REAL PARTNERSHIP: Room to move

Often the basis of a good detective yarn is business partners falling out. And then, unfortunately, we hear of marriage break-ups or about friends splitting because of a broken relationship. Or even of church splits due to senior pastor/associate pastor differences or pastor/congregation problems.

Real partnership – strong and lasting – is invaluable! Its principles enrich marriages, relationships, businesses and church life.

Jesus’ prayer for his friends
When Jesus prayed that Christians, his followers, might be one he wasn’t emphasising denominational togetherness - church denominations hadn’t been birthed then! He was encouraging a unique unity with each other, even as he and the Father are one. The reason?

So that we would be partnering with one another in complete togetherness in order to do his will (John 17:20-23). Amazingly this would also have us partnering with God! Jesus' request was a follow-on from John 15:12-15 where he commanded us to love one another and do whatever he requires of us so that he can then truly call us his friends.

What an amazing position we’re in when we partner with God… we become the friends – which means dear associates - of Jesus! Let me explain this...

‘Servant’ is doulos, a bondservant; ‘friend’ is philo, a dearly loved associate actively involved. According to Jesus, a friend of his is one who knows his thoughts and will, has been chosen by him and empowered by him. And one who willingly wants to be involved and serve him, even when the going gets tough!

When you partner with Jesus and call him ‘Lord’ – ‘the boss’ – a whole new ballgame comes into play for you! Anything is possible, for Jesus said in John 15: 16 that God the Father would give us whatever we ask in Jesus’ name. That’s mind-blowing! (Of course, we don’t ask foolishly but as directed by the Holy Spirit).

Single-mindedness – a church growth key
One of the great keys to church growth and to continuing growth is unity…oneness in purpose. The early church had this. Scripture - and history - records the success of those early Christians because they were constantly ‘in one accord’ (Acts 1:14; 2:1, 46, 4:24, 5:12, 19:29). ‘One accord’ means ‘a passionate one mindedness.’

Such unity leads to active involvement resulting in achievement. Real partnership, real togetherness means having unity in vision and purpose such as the Father and the Son had (and have). The Holy Spirit must be included here too as together they comprise the Godhead. Although they are one, each has specific positions and functions to fulfil and complete the overall goal.

And there’s a key word…complete, not compete. In church life, marriage, family, relationships and business we work together for the common good, the unified purpose, the bigger picture, the ultimate goal... not in competition with each other.

Any competitive spirit of ‘I’m better than my partner, friends, church associates’ and such is a wrong attitude that gets us nowhere! Not squabbling over petty things but flowing together in sharing our talents, treasure and time results in God blessing us individually and corporately.

We will grow in Christ and our church will also grow. Especially as we think ‘outside the box’ (traditional programs) and come up with Holy Spirit ideas that will develop our church and activities. And our marriage will be enriched and even our relationships and business can also grow richly.

So…releasing the three ‘Ts’
If Jesus is going to be Lord in your life, what are those talents you have that you can dedicate to building relationships and especially your church? What time frames are you willing to commit to, say, praying for events and people, calling on someone incapacitated and helping and praying over them, being rostered on a team (worship, baby boomers, real seniors, youth, kids,‘littlies,’ prayer and such)?

And what about the ‘treasure’ angle…always displaying a generous spirit. All these are vital roles in helping extend your church and securing its base for a quantum leap forward. Again, these are life principles that can also be applied to marriages, relationships and businesses.

Church life is not about competing or striving to leave your mark by equal input. No, it’s about engaging in equal opportunity to be of service to Jesus and one another.

Freedom - the incredible unity of the trinity!
Although the word itself is not in scripture, we rightly refer to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as the trinity. ‘Trinity’ – perichoresis - in its original meaning was a highly expressive one.

The early church used the title not so much as to try to describe the indivisibility of the three-in-one aspect of the Godhead, but of the incredible freedom that each Godhead member has within that indivisibility as they work and flow together in oneness of purpose. It was a word connected with space, room to move, dancing around at banquets and festivals, fluid movement, and a dance of life. In effect, a description of life-bringing actions arising from a united caring mindset.

Take that on board if you consider yourself a committed local church member with purpose. You’ll get the picture that all church members should be flowing together in unity to achieve all that God wants for your church family and his outreach purposes, as well as ministering joyfully to each other. The reality is, like the unity and freedom that each Godhead member enjoys, we can each contribute, not compete, in completing Jesus’ commands and work.

When Jesus told his disciples to cast their nets on the right side of the boat after they hadn’t caught anything, they obeyed and gained an amazing catch…153 fish (John 21). Note especially verse 5: he called them ‘friends.’ He still knows the ‘right’ place for his friends to go fishing successfully for souls, happiness, real action, peace, satisfaction and such...

A season of soul catching
Church life is often about seasons in God. Presently the church is in a season of desperately needing to see many people saved, just not being a hospital for those who are already Christians. Yes, every church should care for its flock but the current Christian flock needs to increase because other religions are!

We should be ready for and into action! We need to hear his directions and go fishing actively for Jesus, allowing the Spirit to open new doors of outreach with thinking that’s outside the traditional box.

Jesus wants every Christian to be courageous and daring by thinking bigger (dreaming in God followed by action) and acting in faith, praying earnestly, believing sincerely, caring for each other and developing strong friendship, being more hungry and thirsty for his Spirit to move supernaturally through us. And to be more relational with him, and especially allowing him to be Lord (the boss).

You can do it!
Yes, you can! And with joy and personal satisfaction, seeing the results of contributing and achieving together with your pastor and other Christians.

And Jesus will greatly bless you for he loves to do so to his friends. After all, if you put him first, his right ways first, and the kingdom first, he will see to it that you have all the things necessary to living life to the full (Matthew 6: 33; John 10:10b).

Be a person of influence! Make a difference in your family, marriage, relationships, business, workplace and church.

The Good Shepherd and the CIA

The Good Shepherd... that was title of a movie that claimed to be about 'the history of the CIA and one of its young agents.'

Christians who really know their God and his word, the Bible, with thankful hearts truly understand that there is a real ‘good shepherd’, Jesus Christ. And that he has his own brand of CIA, not centred in Langley but in local churches and in Christians themselves.

This particular, peculiar CIA stands for Connecting, Involving and Advancing.

Connecting

The church of Jesus is primarily a place of personal growth through connecting in worshipping God, in developing a Bible-grounded faith and in being released in serving Jesus.

That’s why we have pastors – caring God-appointed shepherds – to expound the scriptures, ensure we’re flowing in genuine Bible-based worship, growing in our faith and to build a platform of expectation for the supernatural moving of the Spirit in every meeting.

In simple terms, Connecting begins with connecting with Jesus through prayer, Bible meditation and developing a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Connecting also includes ‘being there for others.’ This is where the rubber really hits the road! Real church … real body ministry that goes beyond what’s been taught but hasn’t been really heard or taken onboard at Sunday services. Christians getting together with one another and caring, advising and praying.

This is why many churches have different connecting opportunities…after Sunday meetings ‘cuppa’ fellowships, various midweek groups, especially home groups or whatever name they go under. And you can create your own connecting time …an invite to a meal or coffee time at home. Then the Holy Spirit can take advantage to open up hearts. Not only have Christians been helped and released at such opportunities but people have got saved!

Bible teacher Chuck Meissler has stated that he believes that this is where the church of Christ is meant to be…into fellowship - connecting - groups. And praise God that many have indeed been richly blessed through being part of at least one of such connecting groups!

Involving

Involvement is the opposite of being on the fringe, to being on the outside or at least only on the bank of God’s river instead of ‘diving in.’ Of being some kind of lone ranger on ones own, not really supporting your pastor and not buying into the church’s vision, programs or needs.

A great sign of a healthy church is when people seek God to be involved in church life and they commit fully to what he has shown them or whatever service opportunity their pastor offers. The blessings flow when we stretch ourselves in trusting the Holy Spirit and build Jesus’ local church through praying, caring, ’being there’, giving, encouraging one another and using our talents and time.

In Luke 15:1-7 Jesus painted a clear picture of a really caring person for whom nothing was hardship or bother when he had to help a sheep in trouble. Now we’ve heard sermons on this about Jesus being the good, indeed great shepherd and how the angels sing in heaven over ‘a lost sheep’ – an unsaved person finding Christ as Saviour and being saved. It’s a terrific salvation based story.

But we need to note two things… Jesus was speaking directly to a number of so-called religious people who did not want to be involved and weren’t caring. He began with ‘Suppose one of you…’ and then he talked about finding and bodily helping the poor sheep that would otherwise be perishing. And he keeps referring to the searcher (whether a shepherd or the actual owner doesn’t matter) rejoicing over finding and willingly carrying the load of the sheep on his shoulders (v5-7).

When we tie this parable in with other biblical insights and directions – John 13:34 (‘Love one another’), John 13:33 (‘Seek first the kingdom of God’), Acts 2:42-46 (Thousands of the early church being in pure togetherness with one another in fellowship including sharing meal times), and of course Heb.10:25 (a very clear instruction not to neglect gathering together and encouraging one another), we see that involvement is important to church and personal growth and development. And that the onus is on us, not just our pastors.

Matthew 6:21 is a great word of Jesus that can be our challenge in respect of church involvement! The big question is: Where does our treasure and heart lie? Start involving yourself in your local church!

Advancing

The kingdom of God is meant to be advancing through the strategy of the local church and every Christian. Numeric growth is important for any church. We need to, we should, grow numerically…especially if the church is in an overall healthy state, the word is taught, genuine worship is welcomed and the Holy Spirit is allowed time to exult Jesus.

It’s the church of Jesus overcoming the kingdom of Satan and the world! A growing church where people are blessed, the Spirit moves and its attendees discover great life principles and develop contented satisfying lifestyles is a shining beacon to troubled neighbourhoods.

And growth comes from us reaching out - connecting - to the unsaved. Salvation is a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit but our role is to do what Jesus asked of us… share the gospel’s good news and to make disciples of those who accept him. (See Mat. 28:19-20; Mar. 16:15-16).

There’s an old adage: ‘Sheep beget sheep.’ How do churches grow? Firstly prayer and a burden for the lost (that good shepherd principle again). Then through church folk reaching out to the unchurched and witnessing Jesus. And inviting people along to church and special meetings aimed at touching lives and meeting needs.

But also by us committing our time, talents and treasure to the running and development of our church. Then - and so important to remember this - through a sovereign move of God on prepared soil. Opportunities are around us toady! Let's advance.

Challenge

We have Jesus, the quintessential good shepherd to guard and lead us. And to care, provide and carry joyfully on his broad shoulders.

As for us, let’s really support our local church and buy into the vision. Let’s remember that other Christians are our brothers and sisters in Christ and support one another more. And of course also reach out to the unchurched. This way we’ll continue to grow personally and help grow our church!

And – as CIA team members – we also will become good shepherds.