;)
Restoration: Not a SBC Distinctive
Posted by Chris Johnson in Baptist Life, Bible & Theology, Church & Missions
During the past few years the SBC has bantered about a need for restoring the church. Many have testified during these last few years that they cannot even remember restoration being a part of their fellowship at all,… in some cases for periods of over 40 years. What a tragedy! So, I thought a good place to start in this pursuit of “restoring” truth is to realize the meaning and intent of biblical restoration; or what some refer to as church discipline. For the purpose of this series I will use the terms “restore” and “restoration” to illustrate the purpose and meaning of effectively confronting sin in the church and then pose some questions to pry for answers on how you believe the SBC can move toward “restoration” as a distinctive in generations to come. In other words where is the beginning of such an initiative for the SBC? Finding a starting point is important for the local cooperating fellowships as they identify something that is illusive and not distinctive yet within their local body. The lead picture illustrates what some think of restoration… when misunderstood!
In this next series, I want to discuss:
Biblically, restoration is shown to us more clearly by Christ in Matthew’s gospel account. Although restoration was a hallmark of an obedient life throughout all of scripture, it is when Christ is manifest, that He articulates the command directly to His disciples so that His little children (His adopted) would be without doubt and understand the immense power of the Holy Spirit in the life of His body.
The basis for restoring our brothers and sisters rests in this remark given by Christ…..
Matthew 18:4-6 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (5) “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; (6) but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
So, whoever is offending is not receiving Christ. That is a stark realization for some. Christ taught that an offense is something that causes our brother and sister to stumble,…Christ said that this stumbling ,when caused by such an offense, is “better” understood as an offense worthy of a millstone being hung around the offender’s neck and the offender thrown into the depths of the sea. It is clear from this statement by our Lord that a church that is callously ignoring or patiently complying with an offense is “casting lots” before Christ. Casting lots is a game of impartiality…a game passionately played without recognizing that an offense has been committed to the least of Christ’s children, while at the same time negotiating a release from the offense in self-sanctification.
Matthew 25:40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
Matthew 25:44-45 “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ (45) “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
Matthew 27:35 “And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots.”
Understanding restoration means understanding the reason to restore. In other words, why would I want to restore someone in the first place? Christ simply says, “You have won your brother”. Christ demands that the disciples and all of His followers come to know the great worth of His Kingdom, not man’s comfort on earth. Put another way, Christ our redeemer was clearly stating that it is a great discomfort for anyone to be about the pursuit of holding anyone back from righteousness….While at the same time Christ is teaching that being confronted about sin is not ultimately and realistically discomforting in the light of His Kingdom. In today’s churches though, the majority of folks learn to be more interested in comfort and self-esteem,… and non-restoration… instead of righteousness and Christ’s restoration. Many Pastor/Elders even interpret “discipline” as a negative (simply not understanding Christ’s teaching very well), instead of clearly teaching the practice as a positive as understood in Christ’s factual statement “you have won your brother”.
A great place to start for all Pastor/Elders leading their congregation in restoration is to spend a great deal of time in discipleship helping all to understand Christ’s positive reality in actual sanctification, which after all is restoration. Most church members today are confused about what actual sanctification is…having it confused with self-sanctification (which is no sanctification at all). So it will take patience and time to teach the truth about actual sanctification which is the path to a rebirth of loving restoration.
Help me out with a few ways that you have initiated this type of discipleship…
How do you or other Elders in your church initialize… or teach restoring a brother or sister in Christ? If you are not an Elder, what have you experienced?
What are some ways that the SBC can cooperatively initiate and encourage “Restoration” (Church discipline) so that the practice will become a distinctive among like minded local fellowships for the benefit of future generations?
Blessings,
Chris
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
Dallas Willard writes, “Any successful plan for spiritual formation, whether for the individual or the group, will in fact be significantly similar to the Alcoholics Anonymous program.” Therefore, we use the Twelve Steps of AA as a framework for putting on the character of Christ. The Twelve Steps incorporate a holistic paradigm for spiritual transformation that is both descriptive and prescriptive for the community of faith. The steps can be summarized in the following way: Surrender (steps 1-3), Reconciliation [or restoration] (steps 4-10), Prayer (step 11), and Mission (step 12).
Steps 4-10 speak of taking a fearless and moral inventory of yourself, admitting to God, to yourself, and another person the exact nature of your wrongs, asking God to remove any defects of character, restoring broken relationships by making amends (both offering and receiving forgiveness), and admitting when we are wrong.
In short, following Jesus is reflective in how we relate to others. We are to reflect God’s character in our relationships with other people. God has made himself known. He is not “out there” to dream about, but present to change lives. He is the standard for our actions, and that we are his children means we are to copy his acts. We have received grace and forgiveness from him. Therefore, we are to show the same to others. He loves, and we are to love.
We are the image bearers of God, reflecting him for the world to see—a display people.
Brother Michael,
Thanks for setting this in motion…..
The AA plan is patterned after some biblical restorative principles. Looking at the steps you have provided….especially steps 1-3,…How does your congregation model this “surrender”? How would the offended engage or confront the one being offensive (the alcoholic for instance)? Remember in biblical restoration, it is the responsibility of the offended to go to the offender. So this is where the rubber meets the road so to speak….
I find most churches not willing to engage… but are will to wait until someone is cleaned up a little before this discipleship happens. What have you found to be important truths as you gently confront the sin (whatever it may be)?
Blessings,
Chris
Chris,
The last time I was serving in an “elder” capacity in a local congregation was several years ago in Spain. We would have weekly elders’ meetings (there were 3 of us), in which, among other things, we would discuss the spiritual state and progress of the various members, attendees, and evangelistic contacts affiliated with our congregation. We would also include our wives in these meetings, as many times, they were more in touch with the issues affecting the women than we, as men, were. I can’t say we infallibly mentioned every member in every meeting. But, we did our best to stay abreast of the current spiritual situation of each member, and map a strategy to help each one in their spiritual growth. This often involved assigning them to small groups under the more direct care of small group leaders. We had a standard “equipping track” that involved a curriculum of courses and materials that we thought were helpful for basic discipleship. Our goal was for each member to be progressing along the “equipping track,” and we tried to keep up with how far each individual had progressed. At the same time, we were flexible, and adapted the “equipping track” according to the needs of the individual members. If there were particular issues of sinful lifestlye, broken relationships, etc. of which we became aware, we would discuss among ourselves (elders and wives) a strategy for approaching the individuals involved, and dealing with these issues.
We had about 30 baptized members, and 75 regular attendees, including children, at that time. I think to maintain the system we maintained would be challenging with a much larger group. But I do think it is important that each and every member has someone who considers themselves to be accountable for their spiritual progress in a personal, individualized way. The problem in many of our congregations is that most people are virtual spectators, sometimes even in their Sunday School classes or other “small groups.” Many times, no one in a position of responsibility really knows much at all about the current spiritual state and progress of many of the disciples supposedly under their spiritual watchcare.
Much of the ethical teaching in the NT, is to reject what destroys community and promote what builds community. It is not just a haphazard set of instructions. Instead the injunctions often are offered as contrasts between negative and positive ideas, and theological motivation is offered as why the command should be observed (ex: Eph 4:25-5:2). Before dealing with the specific commands and motivations of a passage, attention must be given to the fact that the Christian life is a relational and a reflective one. It is about our relationship with God which is reflected in our relationship with others. This relational/reflective way of life is presented in the NT as “one another.” As Christians we are a part of one another—we suffer and thrive with each other. Until we take this inter-relation seriously, we can never be what we are called to be—a tangible presence of the Kingdom of God.
Worship is telling the truth about God, Confession is telling the truth about ourselves. Admitting our wrongs is telling other people the truth. There is not a more profound community activity than speaking and living the truth in love. Application of living the truth focuses our lives on the gospel. We are to live the gospel. The gospel expresses reality, so speaking the truth involves rejecting the pseudo-reality in which our society seeks to live and embracing what is really real—God and his work in the world. Living the truth is a theological act, by which all of God’s message is incorporated into our very beings.
The only place, therefore, anyone can live meaningfully is with the truth which is particularly important for building community. Communities are based on mutual reliance. In speaking the truth to our neighbor we are saying, “You can rely on me; our relationship will not mislead you or cause you harm. I will help you and my word will correspond to my acts.” Even if this means confronting someone who has hurt us. A healthy community cannot exist without truth.
This perspective undergirds the necessity of giving and receiving grace. This is evidenced in both what is said and in what is given materially. Like promptly admitting when you are wrong. Insensitivity and hostility are simply not allowed in a community centered in Jesus.
David and Michael,
So far, I can see a theme emerging from these initial comments.
Since the Christian life is relational, it stands to reason that those that have been born again are to be tuned in…and have some view of what’s going on. Not just being understood as a people invited to a show in other words. Michael said “Like promptly admitting when you are wrong. Insensitivity and hostility are simply not allowed in a community centered in Jesus.” I think that is what Christ was getting at with His disciples.
Also, David brings out several important beginning points with discipleship …. and reflects on the importance of loving shepherds throughout the fellowship.
An important and essential reality that emerges is not losing sight of the “needs” of the individual and that each develops differently. Of course, that is why the Christ is so emphatic on discipleship and plural leadership….(but that discussion is for another time.) The church, especially as she grows in numbers at the local level, tends to generalize discipleship into programs and begins to move away from what really creates the community in the first place.
Good input,
Thanks men,
Chris
Chris, I am glad that you raised the issue that “discipline” is a positive term. When we relegate “church discipline” to “punishment,” or even “redemptive punishment,” we are missing out on so much of the concept.
No one excels in any endeavor without some sort of “discipline.” A pianist learns “discipline” by practicing for hours and hone necessary skills. Such “discipline” is actually a freeing exercise, because it frees the pianist up to play pieces of music that other pianists without the “discipline” could never be able to play.
The biblical concept of “church discipline” is basically Christian discipleship. It is far more encompassing than “restoration.” Churches are practicing discipline with their people as they are training them up in what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Exerting their efforts here hopefully will mean that a church will rarely have to exercise what is normally thought of as “church discipline.” Such proactive and preventative training will guard against much more unpleasant scenarios in the future.
Very good points Kevin,
Restoration is the real result of effective discipleship. The pianist example is really good. No one likes to play scales for hours on hours at the piano, but “oh my” how it pays off in the long run!
It sounds like patience may be an essential element of restoring our brother and winning him!
Blessings,
Chris
Chris,
We as Born Again Children of God are Accountable to all our Brothers and Sisters in Christ. If we set on the sideline and watch or allow Our Brother and Sister falter we are not being Christ Like. We all need to be plugged in to the fulfillment of making Disciples for Christ. My wife and I were nurtured along the lines that David Rogers described above in small groups.
Chris
Thanks for posting this post on restoration, as we all need it in our daily walk.
Wayne
Brother Wayne,
You have reminded me of what Peter was communicating to his disciples in the second letter. It is always our privilege to remind believers of the things that are consistent with the truth which is present in us. We should as he has said… “stir you up by way of reminder”,…not of my “selfish desires” (tradition) for you, but of those things that testify to the truth.
2 Peter 1:12-15 “Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. (13) I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, (14) knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. (15) And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.”
Making disciples from a biblical view and not a traditional view is critical. That you for the comment.
Blessings,
Chris
Wayne,
meant to say “thank you” for the comment.
-cj
Chris:
Your last two questions [in bold face italics] regarding “restoration” or “discipline” are excellent.
I hear people calling for “regenerative church membership”. I don’t know exactly what this means in terms of practical things that congregations are implementing.
Using the shepherd/sheep metaphor that the Bible uses, “restoration” must have something to do with keeping the flock in the fold or bringing them back into the fold. However, it seems to me that many churches have as many or more people going out the “back door” than coming in the “front door” so it is evident that whatever restoration is in effect is not working. I admit that people moving to another town or dying must be taken into account. But even still, I think the majority of people who leave fit into other cases such as: (a)drifting away, (b) getting mad and leaving, or (c) splitting and starting up a splinter church ‘across the street’.
I guess if “restoration” or “church discipline” was working at 100% efficacy then the incidence of cases (a), (b), and (c) would be zero.
On the other hand, it could be that there will always be those who fall away even if the church is running on all 8 cylinders. Church discipline didn’t stop Ananias and Sapphira from telling a lie about their giving. Well, actually, I guess it did — they experienced the “ultimate” form of church discipline.
Roger Simpson Oklahoma City
Brother Roger,
Your right,… for the most part the majority of folks that are not given discipleship as just part of the necessary feeding will in fact soon get tired of the weekly “show” and “programs”… and begin to say something like “I’m just not getting fed anymore”. That particular quip is said over and over inside churches these days….when folks are really just giving off the signal that “Hey, I’m about to leave unless someone can give me a good reason to stay”. The flock will grow impatient when the Elders are asleep at the wheel trying to develop more programs or a flashier presentation for the weekend. That pattern of glitz did not exist in the early churches.
The most effective discipleship is nose to nose. Some might say,…I don’t have time to go nose to nose with everyone. Over time God provides a plurality of leadership and teachers to help give the church nose to nose encounters. God has always provided this pattern from the time of Moses through the present.
Restoration is not “Regenerate Church Membership”, because the church is already regenerated,…they simply need correct discipleship to feed on…so that those that are the Saints (regenerate) can bring restoration and can understand that love is patient and kind,… and not a wrestling match.
Your also right though about ole Ananias and Sapphira,…God is serious about His Word.
Blessings,
Chris