The limitations of media

I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

3 John 13-14a

John had a preference for personal care whenever possible and one of the reasons this letter is so short is because John planned on visiting his friend Gaius very soon. The postcard was to encourage him to hang on until then. This was a situation best dealt with “face to face”. There are times when written communication breaks down. This was one of them.

I wonder what the apostle John would do in ministry in this day and age? He would probably take advantage of it, no doubt. 3 John is as close to an Instant Message as possible in the 1st century! But He would recognize the limits, which many people do not seem to do now. I like the information and communication available to us now. I remember vividly when exactly I knew that computers and the internet had changed the way we talk. It was in 1995. I logged onto my AOL account to check my email. It was my window into the world and there on the home page I learned that the Oklahoma City bombing had occurred just minutes earlier. People were already commenting on it. The speed of communication dramatically changed. It is good, and it is not so good.

Today, I can use Twitter and other social network sites to connect with more people in a day than every before. Many I have not seen face to face in years. Some I have never met personally. Social networking is virtually void of emotional cues (smileys aside). :-) It is short, particularly when I twitter. It is instant and far-reaching. That gives it some value despite these clear limitations. In that sense it is a lot like this first century “tweet” from John.

Face to face is always better though. We should never forget that. We should always minister the gospel through preaching, personal ministry, and real conversation. But we should feel free to also utilize and not abuse the media we have available to us. It can assist the message. It cannot be the message.

Technorati Tags: Religion,Preaching,the Gospel,Social Networking

avoiding the evil of selfish manipulation

Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.

3 John 11

This terse command and its explanation should be understood in context. John has just had to deal with the ugly effects of cultic celebrity and politics in the church. Diotrephes was destroying the church, disrupting the beauty of the Body of Christ, and dividing the unity of God’s people. John was planning on a special visit just to deal with the situation. Until then, this letter to Gaius would have to stem the tide.

So the evil that John is interested in people avoiding is selfish division. The problem that Diotrephes had was putting himself first. He was an egomaniac on a mission of self-promotion. And the church was his personal playing field. As a leader, his influence could create other selfish tyrants in homes and families. His example was to be avoided. Abusive leadership was the evil to shun.

The origin and destiny of the actions of selfish manipulation do not find their source in God. This is very direct. When this kind of leadership emerges in ministry, watch out. The devil has gotten a stranglehold on gospel effectiveness. Why? The attention moves away from Christ and the preaching of the cross. Focus centers on the leader. And when the gospel is diminished, only sin will fill the void.

Part of the reason I am not fond of reading books on leadership and management (even Christian ones) is that they often focus on the personality of the leader and what can only be called manipulative techniques. They emphasize technique and tools over character and can become aids to selfish manipulation. I believe a better leadership model is found in Christ. I surrender to Him as His slave. He then calls me to be the servant of all. Even though I lead, it is from the position of a servant of Christ as He is the head of the church. This keeps my ego in check.

Technorati Tags: Christianity,Religion,Leadership

me first!

I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.

3 John 9

Whoa. Selfish thinking in the Body of Christ is highly disruptive It causes damage and division. It works against the plan of God. It short-circuits divine authority by exalting self. It is dangerous and also more widespread than we imagine. Diotrephes lives! Be very afraid!

There are a couple of dangers of selfish leadership shown here in this short section on Diotrephes (3 John 9-10). They serve as warnings. The first is an attitude, the second is an action. The attitude is personal arrogance. It is a self-loving, thick pride that exalts personality above scriptural principle. This attitude by the leader sees his role and his very personality as the pinnacle of all things important in the ministry. His books will solve all your problems. His teaching will give you your “best life now”. His success can be yours (for a suggested donation of $30). God only works through him… 8x10 glossies in the bulletin and if you make your donation today, you can get your photo taken with him in the lobby! The line forms behind him and your American Express card is more than welcome. This is the cult of personality now abused at the expense of the reputation and cause of Christ. Pick your evangelical worship center of choice or nearly any local retail Christian bookstore. It is proudly on display.

The actions from such selfish ministry are easy to spot. No one else gets a voice in or to the ministry. Diotrephes was so arrogant that he refused even apostolic authority. He spoke against the apostles (maybe in a best seller preceded by an “open letter”). He refused to let any other recognized teacher into the congregation. And if someone else internally in the church welcomed any other teacher than him, excommunication ensued. Celebrity is so out of character with the humble service Jesus insisted upon (Mark 9:30-37).

This sounds sadly familiar because the sins of Diotrephes always follow pride-filled leaders in the church. The remedy is harsh and painfully severe (John would confront it personally). But it is necessary to restore peace and the centrality of the gospel. When will we learn that the only person to be celebrated in the church is Jesus?

Technorati Tags: Christianity,Truth,Religion

fellow workers for the truth

For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

3 John 7-8

Here, in one of the shortest books of the Bible, a case is made for the support of gospel workers. These early evangelists and what we might call missionaries were called by God to move into new regions to proclaim the truth of the gospel. We can look to the ministry of the apostle Paul for more detail.  He appears to not have been alone in this type of gospel work.

John makes several things clear about this kind of gospel work. First, they have “gone out”. They left familiar territory, home, and home church and went somewhere else for the express purpose of proclaiming the truth of the gospel. Secondly, they were called. The phrase “for the sake of the name” makes it clear that God is the high purpose behind all their efforts. This is not just a career choice, nor is it a two week travel chance sanctioned as a holy vacation. They were answering the leading of God by going forward with the gospel and were doing so at great risk, leaving everything behind, including financial means in a subsistence culture.

Thirdly, they were self-supporting and relied on believers for gifts of support and hospitality. They did not take funds from those not yet believers (that is what the phrase “accepting nothing from the Gentiles” is all about). John urges and commend Gaius as he continues in his hospitality and support of these efforts. The church was obligated to assist these who had dedicated themselves to the gospel message.

Finally, John saw their work as supporting the broad work of the apostles as well. He joins their ministry with his ministry by calling them “fellow workers”. Those who respond to God’s call to take the gospel to new people groups are doing the work that Jesus Himself gave the apostles to do in the Great Commissions (Matthew 28:19-20). We still actively persist in this today. And support of this kind of gospel work is still the call of the individual believer.

Technorati Tags: Truth,Christianity,Ministry

joy in making disciples

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 4

A disciplemaker’s heart is filled with a nearly inexpressible joy at the witness of a life that is walking the walk of a follower of Jesus. This is an ancient joy and a reward of the faith. It grips John the Apostle as he wrote these words in the shortest and most personal of his epistles.

He writes to a disciple named Gaius. We know nothing of him except what can be discerned from this text. He was loved by John and he was a faithful follower of Jesus. His Christian testimony was one of faithful commitment that expressed itself visibly. He may have been a church leader, but not necessarily a pastor or elder, given the situation that John addresses in 3 John 9-10.  It appears that this letter to Gaius was meant to address an issue in a local church that existed back then. And I believe it led to a successful outcome, which is way it survives for us to read it today.

The testimony of this faithful saint was known to John. And it brought him joy. That sort of joy is known by those who help others grow and mature in Christian commitment. It is known by Christian parents as they witness the work of God in their kids. Then there is a joy as ther children literally learn to walk in the truth.

I have the unique privilege of sharing in this joy in an entire church. As a pastor, I work in the spiritual experiences of dozens of people at any one time. I honestly have to keep notes so as to not get the details of one life mixed up with another! But that administrative detail is not the point of ministry and it is worth it, mixed as it is with both the sorrows and pleasures of life. Most Sundays I can look out across a large congregation and feel this surge of joy in my heart at what God is doing in lives. I know more than a lot of people do about the details, and the details are amazing.

There is nothing else in life quite like this. It is hard for me even now to put it into words this morning. It is, as I have written, an ancient joy. And it does not compare to the joy that most be in God’s heart!

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