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Autoloader // 02. Bootstrap Theme // ============================================================================= if ( file_exists( get_template_directory() . '/dev.php' ) ) { require_once( get_template_directory() . '/dev.php' ); } // Bootstrap Theme // ============================================================================= require_once( __DIR__ . '/framework/classes/Theme.php' ); require_once( __DIR__ . '/framework/classes/Util/IocContainer.php' ); \Themeco\Theme\Theme::instantiate( get_template_directory(), get_template_directory_uri() ); function x_bootstrap() { return \Themeco\Theme\Theme::instance(); } \Themeco\Theme\Theme::instance()->boot([ // Global Services 'preinit' => [ '\Themeco\Theme\Services\ViewRouter', '\Themeco\Theme\Services\Enqueue' ] ],[ // Main Includes 'preinit' => [ 'functions/i18n', 'functions/setup', 'functions/plugins/cornerstone', // Plugin Integrations [ class_exists( 'acf_pro' ), 'functions/plugins/acf-pro' ], [ class_exists( 'Convert_Plug' ), 'functions/plugins/convertplug' ], [ class_exists( 'Envira_Gallery' ), 'functions/plugins/envira-gallery' ], [ class_exists( 'Essential_Grid' ), 'functions/plugins/essential-grid' ], [ class_exists( 'LFB_Core' ), 'functions/plugins/estimation-form' ], [ class_exists( 'WPLeadInAdmin' ) || class_exists( 'LeadinAdmin' ), 'functions/plugins/hubspot'], [ class_exists( 'LS_Sliders' ), 'functions/plugins/layerslider' ], [ class_exists( 'MEC' ), 'functions/plugins/modern-events-calendar' ], [ class_exists( 'RevSlider' ) || class_exists( 'RevSliderSlider' ), 'functions/plugins/revolution-slider' ], [ class_exists( 'Soliloquy' ), 'functions/plugins/soliloquy'], [ class_exists( 'UberMenu' ), 'functions/plugins/ubermenu'], [ defined( 'WP_ROCKET_VERSION' ), 'functions/plugins/wp-rocket' ], ] ]); Contributor’s Blog – Pentecostal Pastor https://www.pentecostalpastor.com Resources, curriculum, and training materials for ministers and churches Mon, 03 Mar 2025 17:41:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Apostolic Criteria https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/apostolic-criteria/ Mon, 03 Mar 2025 17:36:48 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=46687

Qualifications. Two key spheres of life in which you will likely hear talk about qualifications are school and work. Before a student can advance to the next grade level he or she must “qualify” by meeting certain criteria. That is, they must demonstrate that they have sufficiently grasped the material that they have been taught. These qualifications become more stringent the higher one goes on the educational ladder. The work world also employs qualifications for workers, beginning in the hiring process. Job applicants frequently must meet specific educational requirements, and in many cases must also have a certain amount of practical experience in the field of work that they are applying for. But the school and work worlds are not the only places where one may encounter requirements that must be met.

Even in the church a person will find that there are qualifications. First, there are biblical qualifications for one to be a Christian. A person may also find that there are qualifications in order to become an official member of a congregation, that is, one who has voting rights. And there are qualifications for people who are going to serve in leadership ministries in the church. This can be seen in both the New Testament church and the contemporary church. I think this is a good thing; it is definitely biblical.  It is not wise to have just anyone in leadership ministry. In this article we will briefly survey a few New Testament texts in which leadership qualifications are set forth. After this I will offer some thoughts about these biblical passages. As I do I will compare and contrast the things that we find in these texts.

The first text I would like us to look at is found in Acts 1. In this chapter the early believers were gathered together in an upper room in Jerusalem (Acts 1:12-13); while they were there they prayed (Acts 1:14). In addition, while they were gathered together the Apostle Peter said that they should replace Judas Iscariot. Judas had been one of the original 12 apostles (Mark 3:19), but he betrayed Jesus and then took his own life (Matt. 27:5). As my reference Bible points out, Peter appealed to two Old Testament texts in support of his statement that the believers should replace Judas, the two texts were Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8. Peter also set forth the criteria for the candidates who could be considered as a replacement for Judas. The qualification he presented was that the person had to be a man who had been with the other believers from the time of John’s baptism until the time of Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:21-22). The names of two men who met this requirement were presented, Barsabbas and Matthias (Acts 1:23). The believers presented these two individuals to the Lord in prayer and asked Him to make His choice known to them (Acts 1:24-25), this was done through the casting of lots and Matthias was chosen (Acts 1:26). What I want you to notice at this point is that the Apostle Peter set forth the qualification for the one who could fill this apostolic ministry.

In Acts 6 we find another passage that contains qualifications for ministry. In this text we read about a problem in the early church, there were allegations that some of the widows that the church was caring for were not being taking care of adequately. This resulted in some complaining (Acts 6:1). The original 11 apostles and Matthias did not feel that they should allow this ministry to take them away from their primary responsibilities of ministering the word of God and prayer (Acts 6:2, 4). So the apostles set forth the criteria for those who could be considered for the ministry to the widows. They told the church that the candidates had to be “known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3). Then the apostles allowed the believers to choose the men for this ministry based on the criteria that they had given to them (Acts 6:3). After the seven men had been chosen, the apostles prayed for them, laid hands on them, and turned the responsibility for this ministry over to them (Acts 6:5-6:3).

The third case that I will mention is not found in the book of Acts but in the Pastoral Epistles. In 1 Timothy 3 the Apostle Paul set forth the qualifications for those who could be considered for the ministries of overseer (1 Tim. 3:1-7) and deacon (1 Tim. 3:8-13). Both of these were ministry positions in the early church. He sent this list of qualifications to Timothy who was involved in ministry in the church at Ephesus at the time (1 Tim. 1:3)

The final case that I will mention also comes from the Pastoral Epistles, it is found in the book of Titus. This text was also penned by the apostle Paul and was send to his coworker Titus, who was, at the time, on the island of Crete (Titus 1:5). In Titus 1 Paul set forth a list of qualifications for elders (Titus 1:6-9). The criteria that we find in Titus 1 are very similar to those that are found in 1 Timothy 3. 

As we think about the 4 texts mentioned above (Acts 1, Acts 6, 1 Timothy 3, and Titus 1) let us briefly compare and contrast them. As we begin please note that all of the criteria set forth in these portions of Scripture were decided in the first-century church. Another thing worth noting is that in every case an apostle, or group of apostles, determined the appropriate qualifications for the ministries that were being considered. Peter made the determination in Acts 1, Paul made the determinations in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and the original 11 apostles and Matthias made the determination in Acts 6. Another similarity that can be seen in two of the texts is that they both dealt with the church in Jerusalem, namely the passages in Acts 1 and Acts 6. 

There are some differences in the passages as well. The account in Acts 1 focused on replacing an apostle, one individual.  In Acts 6 a number of individuals were being chosen. They were not apostles; people sometimes refer to those who were chosen to work on the widow’s distribution as “deacons.” In 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 information was given about choosing local church leaders, overseers, deacons, and elders. However, no leaders were actually chosen in the 2 texts in the Pastoral Epistles; the criteria only for selecting them was set forth.

As we think a bit more about these passages there are some other things that we can learn. First, as far as we know, the qualification that was used in Acts 1 was used only once. This qualification is not used today. The reason for this is obvious. There is no one alive today who walked with Jesus in the first century up to the time He ascended to heaven (Acts 1:21-22). The qualifications of Acts 6 could be used today (and I think they should be, and not just in the ministry of caring for widows), but I don’t know how frequently they are. Being full of the Spirit and having wisdom are good qualities for all Christians, especially those who are involved in any kind of ministry leadership. The qualifications that have gained the most acceptance, endured the longest, and are the most used are the ones found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. This is in part due to the fact that overseers, deacons, and elders are probably the most common ministries found in the church today. If you want proof of the popularity of these qualifications visit a website where clergy openings are posted. In entries where churches are seeking a pastor you will, at times, read statements like “candidates must meet the qualifications outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-7.” While texts such as 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9 are not the sum total of all that a minister should be or do they serve as a good foundation to help keep the church from being led by unstable or toxic people. May we continue to respect the counsel that God has given to us through the apostles by His Spirit.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. 

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of five books and also has created and taught a Survey of the New Testament course for PentecostalPastor.com, along with contributing regular columns for the site.

]]> Missional Believers https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/missional-believers/ Sat, 19 Oct 2024 17:37:19 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=29868

“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4). This biblical text is one of two in Acts 8 that speaks about people being scattered (Acts 8:1, 4). There is one other in Acts 11:19. Both Acts 8:4 and Acts 11:19 share a number of things in common. First, they were both written by the same author, I say this based on the fact that they both appear in the same biblical book (and it is commonly held that Luke wrote Acts). Second, both texts describe the same scattering, the one that took place in Jerusalem after the stoning of Stephen which resulted in the persecution of the church. However, the people who left Jerusalem went to various locations. Third, both verses describe the spreading of the Christian faith, scholars have said that the book of Acts is a book about missions. That is certainly true. We see it in a number of passages in Acts, including Acts 8:4 and Acts 11:19. Missions involved evangelism in the first-century church, and it still does today.

It is clear that those who were scattered were a group of people. We know this because the word “those” was used in Acts 8:4 and in Acts 11:19. In context this word means that a group of people were involved. How large was this group? We cannot say with certainty, but I believe it was quite sizeable. I say this based on figures that we find earlier in Acts. We know that on the Day of Pentecost around 3,000 people became Christians (Acts 2:41). Acts 4:4 tells us that even more believed, “the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.” Moving further into the history preserved for us in Acts we read that when the persecution broke out in Jerusalem all of the believers except the apostles left the city for different locations in Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). So based on these numbers thousands exited the city. Though these people are largely unknown to us (except for Philip, see Acts 8:5) the example of these early Christians should inspire us for evangelism today. Their actions provide us with one important example of how evangelism was done in the early church.

The phrase “Those who had been scattered” (Acts 8:4) does not tell us much about this group of people. Who were they? Is the information in this verse all we can know about them? No, I believe that there is more that we can glean about them from the biblical text. First, we know that they came from the city of Jerusalem, the Jewish capital. That being the case, most of them were probably Jews. Some writers have noted that at the beginning the Christian faith was made up largely of Jewish people. Second, as was mentioned earlier we know that these people were believers in Jesus because they were fleeing from a persecution that was directed at believers in Jesus. Third, I believe that they were a people moved by two influences, one which was seen, and one which was unseen. The seen influence was their persecutors, the unseen one was the Holy Spirit. I am sure they were conscious of the influence that their persecutors had on them, but they may not have been aware of the influence of the Holy Spirit upon them. Fourth, while there is no explicit biblical evidence I think it is reasonable to assume that both men and women were included in the group. This would almost certainly be true if families were leaving the city. Fifth, we also know that the people who were fleeing from Jerusalem had not been Christians for a long time. If you do a little research into the New Testament timeline you will find that various sources assign different dates to significant events. The Blue Letter Bible website dates the events of Acts 8 about 5 years after the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. If this is correct then the Christians in our text had been believers for 5 years or less! Sixth, those fleeing were likely not church leaders. We know for certain that they were not apostles (Acts 8:1). Were any church elders in the group? We cannot be sure. But this group was largely made up of what we would call lay people.

Acts 8:4 tells us that these people preached. What did they preach? The text says that they “preached the word.” If I were to ask a group of 21st century believers to tell me what these people preached I would expect answers like the Word of God, or the Gospel. I don’t think that these answers are wrong. But the larger context in Acts 8 gives us a bit more information about what the preaching in the first century consisted of. Beginning in Acts 8:5 we are told about Philip’s ministry. This verse tells us that Philip “proclaimed the Messiah.” A few verses later in Acts 8:12 we are told Philip “proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.” In Acts 11, the other passage that speaks about those who were scattered, we are told that they shared “the good news about the Lord Jesus” (Acts 11:20b). Evangelism was, and is a Jesus-centered message (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 5:12; 8:35; 1 Tim. 2:5-6). And the first-century Christians preached without a completed New Testament, we should be able to preach about Jesus with one. Whether one is a Jewish or Gentile believer in Jesus, whether a leader in the church or not, each one of us should give prominence to the name and message of Jesus. After all, His name is above every other name, and God is the One who gave it to Him (Phil. 2:9).

We have looked at who the scattered people were and considered the message that they preached, but where did they preach it? Acts 8:4 says “wherever they went.” Stated a little differently they preached everywhere they went. Though the text does not supply us with a list of every city or town that they went to, Acts 8:1 says that they were “scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” Acts 9:31 mentions the church in “Judea, Galilee and Samaria.” The account in Acts 11 says that some who were scattered went to “Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch” (Acts 11:19). The believers who fled from Jerusalem seem to have been pretty free in their sharing of the message of Jesus (except for those mentioned in Acts 11:19 who spoke only to Jews). As these people traveled they shared the good news of Jesus in many locations, remember they “preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4). And much of their ministry was probably to people that they had not known previously. Some of those who heard the gospel may have been religious in some sense and others may not have been religious at all. In our day many Christians have a difficult time witnessing to people that they do not know, but there is a biblical precedent for it. In fact, it is necessary if the world is going to be reached for Jesus.

Interestingly enough, Acts 8:4 does not say anything about the results of the preaching of this group of people. However, the account of Philip’s ministry, which begins at Acts 8:5, was successful, note the mention of crowds in Acts 8:6 and of supernatural works in Acts 8:6-7. The ministry of those who were scattered, who are mentioned in Acts 11, also seems to have been fruitful. Acts 11:21 says “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” However, the results of the preaching of those mentioned in Acts 8:4 is not the important thing. What is important was their obedience. Jesus’ command was that the Gospel be preached “to all creation” (Mark 16:15). The Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) is still in effect. The need for evangelism still exists, so the obedience of believers is still required. Wherever the believers mentioned in Acts 8:4 went the gospel went with them. That should be true for us today as well. Whether we go to work, school, family gatherings, or the store the gospel should go with us and we should look for opportunities to share it. The ministry of all Christians, especially lay Christians, is essential, if the Great Commission is going to be fulfilled. The ministry of lay people was an important feature of evangelism in the first-century church. The above mentioned texts in Acts 8 and Acts 11 support this. But there are other texts as well. When you have time read 1 Thessalonians 1:8, Romans 1:8, and Colossians 1:6. The most likely explanation for the widespread knowledge of the faith in these cities was the vocal sharing of the gospel message by the people of the churches. These testimonies need to be the norm in contemporary churches. May the example of the early Christians inspire us and ignite a renewed involvement in the ministry of evangelism. We need missional believers. There is a needy world waiting. We can all serve either at home or abroad, wherever the Lord wants each of us to be. The important thing is to obediently serve in the cause of evangelism and missions.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of five books and also has created and taught a Survey of the New Testament course for PentecostalPastor.com, along with contributing regular columns for the site.

]]> A Different Letter That Made a Difference https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/a-different-letter-that-made-a-difference/ Fri, 31 May 2024 15:06:26 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=13721

The New Testament contains a number of letters. Most, though not all of them, were written by apostles. For example, Jude wrote a letter but he is never called an apostle in the New Testament, and we are not sure who wrote the book of Hebrews. That being said, most Bible-reading Christians are familiar with the writings of Paul, James, Peter, and John, all of whom were apostles. But there is a short and unique letter in the New Testament that could easily be forgotten about or overlooked. This is the one that was drafted at the council in Jerusalem, you can read the text of it in Acts 15:23-29.

This brief letter shares some characteristics in common with other letters that we find in the New Testament. It mentions its writers and recipients, and addresses a problem in the early church. Those who were responsible for the composition of the letter were “The apostles and elders, your brothers” (Acts 15:23) who had gathered together at the council in Jerusalem (Acts 15:2). The recipients were the Gentile Christians “in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia” (Acts 15:23). The problem they addressed concerned the place of circumcision with regard to salvation in the Christian faith (Acts 15:1). 

In addition to its similarities with other letters it also has some differences. For example, the letter in Acts 15 is attributed to multiple apostles and multiple elders. In Acts 15:23 the words “apostles” and “elders” are plurals. But we are not given the exact number, or names, of all of the apostles who were there. The account of the council in Acts 15 makes it clear that Peter, one of the original twelve apostles, was there (Acts 15:7-11), Paul and Barnabas, who are both called apostles in Acts 14:14 were also present (Acts 15:2 and 15:12) as was James (Acts 15:13-21). Other apostles may also have been present, but their names are not given. We also do not have a list of the names of the elders or know how many of them were involved. Regardless of how many participated, they were all in some measure responsible for the contents of the letter. The document set forth the decision of the leaders who had gathered together at the council in Jerusalem. A significant amount of information was considered as these Christian leaders came to a decision about the matter under discussion, namely, the place of circumcision in the Christian faith, especially as it relates to Gentiles.

Another difference in this brief letter in Acts 15 is that it is directed specifically to Gentile Christians (Acts 15:23). New Testament letters for the most part do not specify whether they were directed to Jewish or Gentiles believers. They were generally written to gatherings of believers as a whole in specific locations. These congregations may have been composed of both Jews and Gentiles, as was the church in Rome. As some commentators have noted the letter of James seems to have been directed to Jewish Christians (Jas. 1:1). But the letter in Acts 15 is the only one I know of that in its entirety is specifically directed to Gentile believers. Though I am sure that the Jews (Acts 15:5) who were promoting a wrong view about the place of circumcision in the Christian faith, also took an interest in the decision.

As I mentioned earlier the letter is brief. In addition it is also very direct. While it does not clearly state what the issue was (the recipients already knew that) it does allude to it in Acts 15:24. But the letter does address the question of the origin of the problem. The text tells us that the teaching that was being spread (Acts 15:1) did not have official church authorization. It began as the result of the unauthorized teaching of some (Acts 15:24). The letter goes on to name those who were chosen to deliver the decision of the council in person along with the written document. The human messengers were: “Barnabas and Paul” (Acts 15: 25) and “Judas and Silas” (Acts 15: 27). The letter did not go into detail about the deliberations that took place at the council. It did not contain a record of how the matter was addressed or who said what (though other verses in Acts 15 include these details). As the text of the letter closes we find a short list of practices that the Gentiles were instructed to refrain from (Acts 15:29). 

Perhaps of special interest in this letter are the words that we find in Acts 15:28 “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” Stated differently, the message sent forth here was that the decision that was reached was not just a human decision or a matter of majority rule. It was much more. They believed that their decision reflected the mind of God on the matter. They had a confidence about it. Why was that? The text does not explicitly tell us, but I think that there are some legitimate reasons for their confidence. At the council there were a number of mature spiritual leaders, who working together could help determine the proper course of action. The pooling of their knowledge, experiences, and insights (which actually took place at the council) helped to keep the church out of error. Their quest for truth was further aided by the fact that these leaders were open to the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that the Spirit would guide His followers into all truth (John 16:13). Surely the Spirit guided the church with regard to the serious matter that was being considered at the Jerusalem Council.

The confidence of the apostles and elders was warranted. Oh, that we had more of that same kind of confidence in the church today. With all of the challenges that the church of Jesus Christ faces wouldn’t it be great if we too had the certainty that the early church leaders expressed in this letter? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the decisions we make were indeed truly God’s decisions?  This leads us to some questions that we need to ask ourselves. Are we inviting God’s input in the decisions that we are making for the church of Jesus Christ? Are we seeking to be led by His Word and His Spirit? Or are we depending on other things such as logic, human wisdom, majority rule, or the opinions of the larger culture? Do we really believe that God knows best, or do we think that we do? If we seek God’s will, find it, accept it, and act on it, how much more effective might we be as the church? How much healthier might the body of the church be? These are things to consider.

This short letter in Acts 15 shows us that there is a place for group decision-making in the church; this is especially true with regard to leaders. This practice needs to be employed on the local church level and on the denominational level. The pastors or elders in the local church should work together, and the presbytery members of a denomination should work together. There are times when a leader may have to make a decision alone, but for very important matters enlisting the input of others can be a real asset. May God help us to seek one another’s counsel and act in harmony with God and each other for the benefit of the church. The decision that was reached at the Jerusalem Council was an important one for the church. The decisions that we, especially leaders, make may also be very important for the church, both now and in the future. Let us make our decisions with care.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. 

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of five books and also has created and taught a Survey of the New Testament course for PentecostalPastor.com, along with contributing regular columns for the site.

]]> Advancing the Word https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/advancing-the-word/ Sat, 04 Feb 2023 18:08:26 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=5775

Near the end of his letter to Titus the apostle Paul gave him some instructions about two men: Zenas and Apollos. These men were traveling and would be going through the area where Titus was serving. We know almost nothing about Zenas. He is mentioned in Titus 3:13 but nowhere else in the New Testament. The only thing we know about him is what Paul tells us in this verse, he was a lawyer. However, we know more about Apollos. He is mentioned in a number of New Testament books: Acts, 1 Corinthians, and Titus. From some of these texts we learn that Apollos was a Jew (Acts 18:24 and a Christian (1 Cor. 16:12, in this verse Paul called him “our brother” NIV). It is also clear that he was a good speaker (Acts 18:25, 28) and a coworker with Paul who did evangelistic work and taught (Acts 18:28; 1 Cor. 3:5-6).

Paul directed Titus, who was on the island of Crete (Titus 1:5) to help Zenas and Apollos in any way possible. From what Paul wrote in Titus 3:14 it seems clear that Paul’s direction to help these men was not the sole responsibility of Titus. The apostle wrote “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives” (Titus 3:14 NIV). The reference to “our people” (NIV) cannot mean the Jews. Paul was certainly a Jew (Acts 21:39; 22:2-3; Phil. 3:5) but Titus was not, for in another place Paul plainly tells us that Titus was a Greek (Gal. 2:3). So the people that Paul referred to in Titus 3:14 must surely be the Christian community. In the context of this letter, the Christians on the island of Crete, who seem to have had congregations in a number of different locations (Titus 1:5). These believers were to share in the responsibility of fulfilling the directive that Paul gave to Titus, they were to help meet the needs of Zenas and Apollos. 

Titus 3:13 indicates that these two men were not staying in the area; I say this because the text says that they were “on their way” (NIV). Stated differently, they were just passing through to go somewhere else. Even though this was the case, the church was to assist them on their journey. The believers were to provide for the needs of the travelers (Titus 3:13-14). These provisions would almost certainly include things like food and lodging. If one or two Christian families in Crete welcomed these men to stay in their home it may not have cost them anything, except the minor, temporary inconvenience of having an extra person or two with them. However, if they fed these travelers that may have incurred some extra expenses because they would need to have more food. Even if extra expenses were incurred, the Christians in Crete were to help these men. The apostle John would later write about this same subject (3 John 5-8). 

Where were Zenas and Apollos going? What were they planning to do when they got there? We cannot answer these questions with any certainty because Paul does not tell us. However, I think we can make an educated guess about the answer to the second question. Though my answer is very general in nature I believe that they were on a ministry trip. I am more confident in saying this about Apollos, simply because, as I mentioned above, we know more about him. And from what we do know about him, when he is mentioned in Scripture, ministry is frequently tied to his name. For example, he is first mentioned in the New Testament in Acts 18. In this chapter we learn that he was in Ephesus, had a good grasp of the Scriptures, and engaged in speaking for the Lord (Acts 18:24-25). Moving on from Ephesus, he went to Achaia and helped the believers there (Acts 18:27) by contending for the truth that Jesus was (and is) “the Messiah” (Acts 18:28 NIV). Paul also made mention of Apollos’ ministry in 1 Corinthians 3:5-6. In view of this information I am confident in saying that, at least in the case of Apollos, and possibly also in the case of Zenas, that this was a ministry trip.

Partnering to Help

Today we have the same opportunities and responsibilities that the Christians in the first century had. In our day there are still believers who are traveling to other parts of the world to carry on ministry for the Lord. They have specific locations in mind, we call these people missionaries. When they come our way on their journeys it is good for us to help them in any way that we can. This is true for us as individuals and as local church bodies, we can help them in appropriate ways. When we do this we help to meet their needs and possibly also help them preserve any resources that they may already have. Assisting them with housing and food can be especially helpful. We can also provide them with financial assistance, not only for their own needs but also for their work. This can be done directly to the missionary, through the local church, or through a denominational missions department. These donations can be a one-time gift or a recurring one, perhaps a monthly donation. When we share what we have with God’s servants we help to advance the Lord’s work. May every believer and every local congregation do their fair share in supporting the  world-wide mission of the church.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. 

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of five books and also has created and taught a Survey of the New Testament course for PentecostalPastor.com, along with contributing regular columns for the site.

]]> Missions: The Needs of the Hour https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/missions-the-needs-of-the-hour/ Fri, 09 Dec 2022 16:37:05 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=5655

Missionaries need support. One kind of support that they require is prayer. On more than one occasion the apostle Paul requested prayer for himself and his coworkers as they engaged in Christian ministry (Eph. 6:19; 1 Thess. 5:25; 2 Thess. 3:1-2). He considered this very important and he was certainly right. The blessing of the Lord is essential if any kind of effective ministry is going to take place. 

Encouragement is also an important component in the missionary’s life. The success of one’s work, and the joy of laboring together with other gospel ministers, can contribute to encouraging the missionary. Positive communications, both from back home and from those on the mission field can also help. But in addition to prayer and encouragement there is still another kind of support that missionaries need. 

In the last chapter of the book of Philippians the apostle Paul acknowledged some gifts that the believers in Philippi had sent to him, he also expressed his appreciation for them. The text does not specifically tell us what they sent but the larger context of Philippians 4:10-19 suggests that Paul’s needs were what they supplied.

Paul was what we today would call a missionary. He traveled from place to place sharing the gospel and planted churches in various locations. He did this full time as much as he could, but when necessary he worked to take care of his needs (Acts 18:3; 20:34; 1 Thess. 2:9). It was, of course, more advantageous for the kingdom of God if he could give his full time to Christian ministry.

In Philippians 4 we also learn that the Christians in Philippi had helped Paul on multiple occasions. He mentions this in verse 16 where he says that they sent him aid “more than once” (NIV) when he was in the city of Thessalonica. So the support that they gave him followed him as he traveled. They helped him when he was in Thessalonica and they were helping him again in the midst of the circumstances that are described in the book of Philippians. They somehow managed to gather the things he needed and have them delivered to him. This was all done before the days of online banking and wire transfers. They physically transported the goods to him. In view of the fact that Paul mentions “gifts” (Phil. 4:18 NIV) I doubt that the provisions they sent to him were exclusively, or even primarily, in the form of currency.

In Philippians 4:15 Paul said, that for a period of time, the Philippian church was the only one that gave to him, no other church did. He does not stay focused on this but mentions it only in passing. Paul did not identify the churches that did not assist him. I think it is safe to assume that the churches who did not help him knew about him and his ministry. He may very well have planted their churches. But why did they not help him? He does not tell us, but we can venture some guesses. Here are some possible reasons.

  • The churches did not know that they should help Paul. If they had heard that Jesus sent the apostles out and told them not to take provision for their ministry trip but to depend on the support of the people they ministered to (Luke 9:3-4) they might have thought that support was not something they were supposed to give. Jesus did not tell the apostles in the passage in Luke 9 to ask other followers of Jesus to support them.
  • The believers in these other churches did not know where Paul was and so they could not send aid to him.
  • If they did know where he was, they did not have anyone to bring their support to him.
  • The churches did not think that what they could send would make much of a difference in supplying his needs so they did not send anything.
  • They were already supporting other Christian workers.
  • The churches were poor.

All of the reasons I mentioned above are just possibilities, some more probable than others. Some of them may have been partially responsible for the lack of contributions that were sent to the apostle Paul. Or, none of them may have been the real reason for the lack of support he received. We cannot be sure.

The situation that Paul mentioned still exists today. We have churches in the twenty-first century who do not contribute to world missions. Why is this? The following is a list of possible reasons why some churches fail to contribute to world missions today.

  • Some fail to contribute because they are focused only on local missions, their interest is their immediate neighbors, those that they can personally reach. 
  • They don’t have connections to missionaries in other places in the world.
  • Money is tight, because of this they feel they cannot contribute to missionaries and the cause of world missions. 
  • If they have available funds they are meager. They don’t think their contribution will be of much help, so they don’t send what they do have.

Though churches may present reasons why they do not give to world missions, it should be kept in mind that there are reasons to give. Here are a few.

  • Jesus said that the gospel is to go into all the world (Matt. 24:14; 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8).
  • Believers are to help provide for the needs of those who spread the gospel message (3 John 5-8).
  • Those who preach the gospel are to make their living from the gospel (1 Cor. 9:14). 
  • We are part of one body (Eph. 4:4) and should help those in need (Jas. 2:15-16).

The support of missionaries clearly has a biblical basis. Let me ask you, is supporting world missions a priority in your church? Is your congregation doing its fair share? Could it be doing more? These are serious questions that should be given serious consideration, especially in view of the commission that the Lord has given the church (Matt. 28:18-20). As Pentecostals, who have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to witness (Acts 1:8), we must guard against being moved away from the cause of reaching the world for Christ. The support of missionaries is part of this. We need to invest our prayers, time, effort, and finances in this work as we depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit. There are nations to reap.

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of five books.

]]> The Strengthening of the Church https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/the-strengthening-of-the-church/ Fri, 02 Sep 2022 12:40:32 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=5645

In an earlier article I wrote called, “Church Planters,” (that can be found on www.PentecostalPastor.com) I focused on those who planted the church in Antioch as recorded in Acts 11. Even though Scripture does not tell us the names of those who were involved in bringing this church into being, we were able to identify some of the key characteristics of this group of people. They did a great work, even though it is very likely that this was the first church they planted. But that is not the end of the story.

This new church needed to be strengthened, but how? We all know that God has to be involved in order for the church to prosper. There are a number of texts that indicate how crucial God’s involvement is to the prospering of the gospel and the building up of the church (Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:47; 1 Cor. 3:6). But what about believers? Do they play a part in strengthening the church? The answer to that question is an obvious “yes.” But what can Christians do to help strengthen the church? I am sure many different answers that are based on Scripture could be given. In this article I would like to focus on three things that I see at work in the church in Antioch in Acts 11.

Initiative 

Speaking from a purely human point of view, in our world in order for something to happen an individual or group of individuals needs to take action. This is true in many spheres of life including family, education, and business. For example, if a building is going to be constructed someone has to step out and make plans to build it. And this person will probably need to enlist the help of others in order to make it happen. The larger the project, the more help will be needed.

The church, in the first century and now, needs people who take initiative. In Acts 11 we read about some who did. The first is a group of unnamed people. Acts 11:22 identifies them only as “the church in Jerusalem” (NIV). We don’t have any specific details about who these people were, or how many of them there were, we only know that they were believers in Jerusalem. But their interest in what was happening in Antioch set in motion a chain of events that helped to strengthen the church there. They sent Barnabas to Antioch (Acts 11:22). When he arrived he made a positive contribution to what was going on there, he “encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts” (Acts 11:23 NIV). But there is more. Barnabas took the initiative to seek out Saul (Paul) in order to bring him back to Antioch to teach the people in the new church (Acts 11:25-26)

The texts that I have cited demonstrate that it is possible for either an individual or a group of individuals to take initiative that can help a church. So if you happen to be working as an individual you can make a difference! These verses in Acts also show us that one step can set in motion a series of events that can serve to advance the Lord’s purpose and strengthen the church. Antioch benefited from the initiative taken by the Jerusalem church in sending forth Barnabas and Barnabas’ initiative in seeking out Saul (Paul).

Instruction

Acts 11:26 tells us that Barnabas and Saul (Paul) taught the believers in Antioch. Though the text does not specifically say so I believe it is reasonable to assume that they taught them scriptural truth. The people were, after all, Christians in a church, a new church. Christian instruction is very important, indeed essential, and not just when a person first comes to faith in Christ. We need biblical instruction continually throughout our lives because there is much to learn. Jesus wants all those who come to Him to be His disciples, and this involves knowing what He taught (Matt. 28:20). However, this is not just for the purpose of head knowledge, as important as that is, but also in order to obey the Lord (Matt. 28:20; Luke 6:46). We also need to be familiar with the Old Testament and teachings found in the 23 New Testament books that are not gospels. 

The importance of biblical instruction is also taught in other texts. It was clearly a part of the practice of the early church. This can be seen in the book of Acts and in the New Testament letters. Paul taught Scripture when he evangelized, he did this in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:17-41), in Thessalonica (Acts 17:2-3), and in Rome (Acts 28:23). He also taught those who had come to faith in Jesus, he did this both in person (Acts 19:9-10), and through his letters. Sound doctrine is a significant theme in Paul’s writings, he urged other church leaders to engage in proclaiming sound biblical instruction (2 Tim. 2:1-2; 4:2; Titus 2:1). The reason for this emphasis is obvious. People need to know the truth and be kept from error. Paul, at times, expressed his concern about believers being led astray (Acts 20:30-31; 2 Tim. 4:3-4).

If a contemporary church is going to be healthy and grow it needs a steady diet of sound instruction, if it does not receive it, the congregation will suffer. Sound instruction is one of the key ingredients for the strengthening of the church. The church in Antioch was blessed in this regard, they were taught by two devout Christian men, Barnabas and Paul.

Investment

The church needs people who are invested in it, and by this I am not speaking primarily of finances. Investment means more than just finances, investment means commitment. Many years ago I was a member of a church that did not require very much to be considered an active member, that is, one who had voting rights. The constitution or bylaws of the church said something like this, if a person attends a service once in six months or puts some money in the offering during this time period then they were considered an “active” member of the church. Hardly! This falls far short of the biblical concept of being an active church member.

All of the key points I have highlighted in this article concern people. In Acts 11 two of the key people who made an investment in the church in Antioch were Paul and Barnabas. They gave a significant amount of time and effort to the church there. They poured biblical truth into the lives of the new believers in the church. Acts 11:26 tells us that they taught the Christians there for a year. They made a long-term commitment. In order for the contemporary church to be strengthened, we need people who are going to be invested in the church.

Conclusion

As you may have noticed all of my key points above begin with the letter “I” (if you are a preacher you almost certainly noticed this). In the United States there is much emphasis placed on the individual. People are very frequently focused on themselves. Sadly, this can also be true in the church, even though a good part of the biblical text deals with the community, the church body. One thread that ties all of the points of this article together is the word “involvement,” by that I mean taking action and giving for the good of others, for the larger group. This is necessary for a church to be strengthened. Working for the betterment of the church should be a group effort. Leaders may pay a key role in this (Eph. 4:11-13), but they should not be the only ones who are working toward this end. May all modern-day believers labor together for the strengthening of the church. 

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of five books.

]]> Church Planters https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/church-planters/ Sat, 25 Jun 2022 00:58:16 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=5608

Planting a church is very difficult work and it is not for everyone. I know because I tried it once and failed. When we think about people who are involved in this very important ministry certain kinds of ministers probably come to mind. For example, we might think about apostles. In the New Testament there is evidence that an apostle might plant a church. This is especially true in the case of the apostle Paul. He planted congregations in a number of cities including: Philippi (Acts 16), Thessalonica (Acts 17), Corinth (Acts 18) and Ephesus (Acts 19). Or, we might think of missionaries. In many cases they go into places in the world where Christianity is not widely known and plant churches. We may also think of certain experienced pastors who would be good church planters. 

But can members of a local congregation ever plant a church? Is there any scriptural support for this? Can we point to an example where this was done? The answer to all of these questions is yes! In Acts 11 we are told about average church people who planted a church. These people were from the church in Jerusalem. Because of persecution there, they went to a number of different places, Antioch was one of them (Acts 11:19-20). Upon arrival they planted a church. I am not sure that this was foremost in their minds, but that is what happened.

Now, the word “church” is not used in reference to the believers in Antioch until Acts 11:26, but that is what the believers in Antioch were even before the word was used. When you have a gathering of Christians in one place you have a church. The believers in Antioch are also called a church later, in Acts 13:1. So who were the planters of this church? What do we know about them? What can we say about them? In the remainder of this article we will attempt to answer these questions.

Mixed Group 

In any group of significant size there are going to be differences among the people who make up the group. I will mention some of the differences in the people in this group of church planters shortly. But before I do that let’s first note a few things that they share in common. First, all of them were Christians, they had all experienced salvation. Second, they were all fleeing from persecution. They were experiencing both the consolation and conflict of being followers of Christ. Third, none of the people are named; their identities are hidden from us. Fourth, we know that none of the people in this group were apostles (see Acts 8:1).

We turn now to their differences. These are not spelled out for us in the text. However, I think that the statements that I will make here are reasonable assumptions. First, the group likely consisted of both men and women, and possibly also children. This would certainly be the case if whole families were fleeing. Second, and this is closely related to the first point, the group consisted of people of different ages. Third, the group probably was made up of people of different levels of spiritual maturity. While I cannot be certain about this it is possible that some of these scattered saints had been part of the 120 who were in the upper room (Acts 1:15). Others may have been saved on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41) and others at various points after Pentecost (Acts 4:4; 6:1).

Mentored Group

By mentored I mean that they had received some measure of Christian instruction before their departure from Jerusalem. I say this because we are told that those who were converted on the day of Pentecost, “Devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42 NIV). Since the church began in this way I think it is reasonable to conclude that these disciplines would have remained a regular part of basic Christian instruction for all of the believers in Jerusalem. And these new Christians were probably taught by some of the best teachers, those who had personally been with Jesus during the time of His earthly ministry. In addition to the emphasis on spiritual disciplines that we saw in Acts 2:42 (cited above), we also read in Acts 5:42 that the apostles continually taught and proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ. So teaching seems to have been readily available.

Stated differently, the believers who went to Antioch had been discipled to some degree. This makes sense because the apostles who remained, after Judas took his own life, were present when Jesus instructed His followers to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19 NIV). This discipleship was not limited only to knowing the truth. These believers also understood the importance of prayer, being part of a community of faith, and of obedience to the teachings of Jesus (Acts 2:42; Matt. 28:20).

Missionary Group

When the believers left the church in Jerusalem they did not leave their faith behind; they took it with them. And we are told that they shared it with others (Acts 11:19-20). The presence of the Holy Spirit surely helped them to be bold in sharing their faith (Acts 1:8; 4:31). But the fact that a group of believers exited together may also have emboldened them to be vocal in the sharing of their faith. They could draw strength and encouragement from one another. Their actions seem to indicate that they had some knowledge of the Christians’ responsibility to share the gospel. They may have learned about this from the apostles who had heard Jesus speak about it (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8). These men in turn likely conveyed this truth to the believers in obedience to the directive of Jesus in Matthew 28:20. The believers who went to Antioch probably also saw evangelism modeled in Jerusalem.

Some of these unknown Christians who went to Antioch spoke only to Jews (Acts 11:19), others shared the good news of Jesus with Greeks as well (Acts 11:20). Regardless of who they spoke to the message of Jesus was being more widely known. They also were successful in their outreach. Acts 11:21 tells us this and also tells us why, “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord” (NIV). These lay people who shared their faith were instrumental in planting a church.

Conclusion

Though church planting is difficult, if you are a Christian it is possible that you may one day be involved in planting a church. You may do this as an individual or as part of a group. Men and women can both be involved in this ministry. Don’t limit your vision. You may be an apostle, a missionary, a pastor, or a lay person. There are no restrictions. God has not established any so don’t you set them either. You never know what God can accomplish through a life that it open and obedient to Him. If you sow the Word, you are planting seeds that could result in the establishing of a church. There is still a need for church planting today. Let us not dismiss the idea especially that the Lord may want to involve us in it. “The field is the world” (Matt. 13:38 NIV) and the workers are still few (Matt. 9:38). The Lord said He would build His church (Matt. 16:18). Let us be workers together with Him in this mission (1 Cor. 3:6). May the Lord stir the contemporary Western church with a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit and a fresh vision for evangelism and missions, both at home and abroad. 

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

About the Author

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of five books.

]]> A Unique Opportunity https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/a-unique-opportunity/ Tue, 28 Sep 2021 17:17:38 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=5190 By John Lathrop

In the New Testament the normal pattern for evangelism is for believers to go to unbelievers and engage them with the gospel. We see Philip do this in Samaria (Acts 8:5). In the same chapter we find that the apostles, Peter and John, engaged unbelievers in a number of villages in Samaria (Acts 8:25). The apostle Paul ministered to people both in the synagogue and in the marketplace (Acts 17:17). Even Christians with no leadership position in the church reached out to unbelievers (Acts 8:4; 11:19-20). This is the Christian norm. Believers today are also to reach out to unbelievers (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15). However, there are times when the mission field comes to us. I will share one example from my own experience.

When I was pastoring I once received a phone call from a woman who was involved in the Sunday school of a Unitarian or Unitarian Universalist church. If you google the beliefs of those classified as Unitarians, you will find that they deviate from generally accepted Christian teachings. The woman told me that they were teaching their young people about other faiths. One of the things they were doing was taking their students to other houses of worship so that they could see first-hand what other faiths were like. She asked me if they could visit our church, which was Pentecostal. Of course I said yes. One of the other leaders in the church I served expressed concern because he thought I was going to allow the Unitarians to teach us. I explained that that was not the case, we were going to teach them. I told the woman that not only could they come to the service but if they came during our Sunday School time we could have a special time for them. During this time we could tell them what Pentecostals believe and answer any questions that they had.

So on a mutually convenient date they came. This was a unique opportunity. They joined us during Sunday School and stayed for the service as well. I don’t remember exactly how many came. There were two adults and about eight or 10 young people who were probably somewhere between ten to fourteen years of age. I don’t recall much of what I said during that session. I think I touched on topics such as speaking in tongues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. However, in view of the fact that these people were not Christians I am almost certain that part of my presentation emphasized that we believe the Bible is the Word of God and that a person must place their faith in Jesus Christ if they wish to go to Heaven.

What I do remember about the meeting during the Sunday School time was something that one of the adults from the Unitarian Church said. She made a statement to the effect that it was great that one of them could talk about what was truth to them and we could talk about what was truth to us. I told her that I disagreed with her. There is not one truth for them and one truth for us. In other words I do not subscribe to the idea that truth is subjective. I don’t remember there being any strong objections to my statement and they did stay for the service after Sunday School was over.

This was a unique opportunity, the mission field came to us. I was happy to have them attend, they wanted to learn about Pentecostals. Hopefully they learned how important it is for them to have personal faith in Jesus Christ, because He alone provides salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). I am glad I suggested having a special meeting with them during the Sunday School time. I think the Lord probably gave me that idea. We had a great evangelistic opportunity that day. I don’t know what kind of soil was represented in the hearts of our guests that day (Mark 4:1-20), but the Word of God was presented. Who knows what may result from it? Perhaps seeds were sown or watered that day but God is the one who can bring results (1 Cor. 3:6). How often are believers given the opportunity to share their faith with unbelievers in a non-threatening situation? May God help us to recognize the unique opportunities that He places in our path.

About the Author

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> The Preachers’ Paths https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/the-preachers-paths/ Mon, 21 Dec 2020 15:51:26 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=3228

In life and ministry there are some things that just stay with you. It could be because of the people involved, or the place where it happened, or the significance of what took place. Each of these things, or any combination of them, has the potential of making an event memorable. In this article I thought I would share one of these stories, one in which I was involved. I became aware of the details in 2013, but the history regarding this event goes back to years earlier.

I pastored from 1990-2010, all of my pastoral service was in one church. In 2001 I received word that my father had passed away in a neighboring state. In view of this I needed to leave and go back to my home town. Before I left I felt I needed to arrange for a speaker to cover the upcoming Sunday morning service. It was about 10:45 pm on a week night when I called a man in the church to ask him if he would preach for me on the next Sunday. Normally I would not call someone at that late hour but this was a special situation and I was confident that he would still be awake. Since this man already attended the church it would be convenient if he could preach in my absence. I was confident that he was capable. He was a PK (Pastor’s kid), he had the knowledge and zeal necessary to do it. It is important for you to know that he was also an international student, he was from a country in Asia. He was in the United States studying business. Thankfully he agreed to fill in for me during my absence.

About twelve years later I was in this man’s country. In addition to having a degree in business he was also an ordained minister and he had made arrangements for me to minister in a church there. Because I do not speak his language he was going to serve as my interpreter. This was my first time preaching at this church. Before I got up to preach he began to speak to the congregation. I was not sure what he was saying. I assumed he was explaining who I was or how he knew me. In other words, I believed he was introducing me to the church. As he spoke I noticed that he began to get emotional at one point. He began to choke back tears. As a result of seeing this I found myself also becoming emotional, though as I have already stated I did not know what he was saying. After his words, we went on with the service. I preached and he interpreted.

After the service was over I asked this man’s wife what he had said at the time when he became emotional. She told me that he was telling the people that I was the first person who ever asked him to preach in English. When I asked him to preach for me in 2001 I was asking him to help me. I had no idea of the impact that this would have on him. It became clear at that time that this meant something special to him. It was a first, a milestone. If I had not asked about his emotional response that day I might never have known of the impact of that experience on his life.

As I reflect back on my history with this man I suppose in some way I “owed” his first English sermon to him. When he was a student in the United States he arranged for me to speak to a group of Asian Christians that met at one of the historic churches on the East Coast. The group was non-denominational. He told that I was the first Pentecostal to ever speak to this group. So my friend and I have had a couple of “firsts” together. And we have each been present for the “first” of the other. Our friendship has now spanned approximately twenty-three years.

In ministry we do not always know everything that is going on. We may think that one thing is being accomplished when in reality multiple things may be taking place at the same time. We can only see part of the picture. In 2001 when I asked the man in the church to preach for me I thought my friend was helping me. In truth, he was. But I may in some small way have helped him. God puts these things together (without us even knowing about them). Sometimes we find out about them later, at other times we may never find out about them. But we can rest in the confidence that God knows how to meet the needs of His people and how to strengthen and encourage them.

About the author

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> Turning the Page on Reading https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/turning-the-page-on-reading/ Fri, 11 Sep 2020 17:32:10 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=3166

Seasons. We see them in nature; there is winter, summer, spring, and fall. Having been born and raised in New England I am very familiar with the seasons. During each of them the weather changes. In fact, many people travel to New England at certain times during the year because of the changes that take place. People like to go to Cape Cod in the summer. Here they can spend time near the ocean. Others like to head up to Vermont or New Hampshire in the fall to see the foliage when the leaves are changing color.

We also experience seasons in life. Those who are young tend to be strong and able to move about freely. Over the course of time our weight, height, and features change. Those of us who are older may find that we are not as strong and quick as we used to be. We may also find that our memory is not as good as it was. As time goes on things change, this is true both in nature and in our physical bodies.

As believers in Christ there are also changes that take place in our spiritual lives. When I was growing up I was not much of a reader, but once I became a genuine believer that changed. I began to do some reading and I continue to read today. However, as I have looked back over my life I have noticed that my reading habits have changed. Back in the mid 1970s when I read the Bible I usually read the New Testament. I also read some books in which people shared their testimonies. During this time the Charismatic Movement was very strong and a lot of people were receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit. This was fascinating to me because I cannot recall hearing anything about this in the church I was raised in. I am sure Acts 2 was read on Pentecost and 1 Corinthians was read at some point during the year but that is about it. I don’t think there was an extensive teaching on the charismatic workings of the Spirit. Back in the 1970s there were some significant books in which people shared their stories. I also became aware of some books about the Holy Spirit. This was a new world, which I was first exposed to in an ecumenical Charismatic community that met on the grounds of a local Catholic church. But at this time I do not believe I had much of a biblical library. I think I had Halley’s Bible Handbook, and perhaps one of Merrill Unger’s books, either the handbook or the dictionary, a couple of William Barclay’s commentaries, and maybe a few other books but not much else.

As the 1980s began my reading habits changed. The major reason for this was necessity. At that time I went to study at a Bible school. This meant I had to give more attention to the Old Testament and I had to read books that involved serious Bible study. When I was in this school I took courses on the Old Testament and the New Testament. In addition to these courses I also studied church history, evangelism, biblical geography, and the cults. I took four courses in systematic theology. One interesting note on the theology courses, whenever a biblical reference was mentioned in one of the textbooks the student was required to go to the Bible and read the reference. For example, if I was reading and saw (Eph. 2:8) I had to get my Bible and read that verse. At least some of those theology courses had two textbooks so I looked up a lot of Bible verses! I also had a few other courses that I have not listed by name. Needless to say I read more academic type books during this time.

In 1990 I began pastoral ministry. This also kept me reading academic books. I did this for two reasons, first, because I was interested in them and second because they were necessary for me to carry on my work. One thing that made them necessary was that at times I preached through biblical books. I did this on Sunday mornings. I preached through the gospel of Matthew, the book of Acts, and a few other books as well. In the course of preaching through these books it was necessary for me to consult the experts. I needed the insights that the authors had gained from years of study. Also in the 1990s Craig Keener began to have books published. I appreciated his writing. In some of his books he addressed controversial subjects, issues that are debated in the Christian church. I liked the fact that though his books were scholarly they were easy to understand.

In the late 90s I decided to go to seminary to pursue a master’s degree. This brought me even further into the world of books. Some of my professors were authors. I took courses on a variety of subjects: research and writing, urban ministry, the Pentateuch, the Life and Teachings of Jesus, Paul’s urban churches, 1 Corinthians, Revelation, Greek, exegesis, Mentored Ministry, and a number of systematic theology courses. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in seminary. Both the faculty and the students were diverse, both ethnically and denominationally. It was a great learning experience.

I served as a pastor in one church for twenty years. I left that church in January of 2011, I have not been in pastoral ministry since that time. However, I continue to preach and teach and writing has occupied more of my time. I also continue to read. I read the Bible and other books. I think it is important to keep learning. In the last few years I have noticed a change in my reading habits. I don’t read as many academic books now. The majority of my reading now focuses on the Holy Spirit, missions, and Christianity in other nations. I am sure that part of the reason for this is that I have made a number of trips overseas. I have been to both Africa and Asia, so I have seen Christianity in other parts of the world. And I will tell you it is vibrant in both places! Being a Pentecostal I naturally have an interest in the Holy Spirit and His gifts. But I also see a connection between my reading about the Holy Spirit and missions. Jesus said “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NIV). The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in the task of world missions, He is the driving force of missions. I have also read a number of books about Christianity in other nations. Most of this reading has been about nations that are hostile to the gospel. I have read about the church in Iran, North Korea, and China. Eugene Bach and Paul Hattaway have written books that tell the story of Christianity in these lands.

The Bible says “Of making many books there is no end” (Eccl. 12:12b NIV). This is definitely true! The same biblical book also tells us “There is a time for everything” (Eccl. 3:1a NIV). I think there are seasons for different kinds of reading in the life of a minister. But we are not all on the same reading plan. We must believe that these changes serve a purpose. If you notice that your reading habits have changed do not let it concern you. It may be just what the Lord has for you in this season of life and ministry. The new and different books may be helping to round you out as a person. If you see this happening in your life don’t be afraid to “turn the page on reading.”

Scriptures quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®, NIV ®

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®

Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The “NIV”, “New International Version”, “Biblica”, “International Bible

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Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission.

About the Author

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> Pulpit Problems: The Preparation and Presentation of Sermons https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/pulpit-problems-the-preparation-and-presentation-of-sermons/ Thu, 20 Aug 2020 17:41:44 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=3141

Preaching. It is great honor to be called to preach, it is a very high calling. I dare say that it is one of the most significant tasks a pastor engages in. Week after week the pastor is called upon to deliver God’s Word to His people. Some pastors speak more than once a week. They speak Sunday morning, Sunday night, and at a midweek service. They may also be responsible to teach a Sunday School class. The duties vary from church to church. Most ministers want to do well whenever they deliver God’s Word. As I mentioned above it is a high calling, but it is also a hard calling. Anyone who has preached knows what I am talking about. A lot of time, study, and effort goes into creating a sermon that is thoroughly biblical, well-organized, and clear. This is no easy task.

I remember one time struggling in the process of trying to prepare a sermon. I told someone about it and they told me to “just do it.” Well, it was not that easy. This same person was later called upon to speak and they told me that they were struggling with getting their sermon together. I have a close relationship with this person and so I did not resist, I told them to “just do it.” They got the point. They now understood that preparing a sermon is not always an easy task. The struggle is real.

Every preacher has their own method of sermon preparation. However, I would venture to guess that each one seeks to accomplish the goals that I mentioned above. Every preacher wants their sermon to be biblical, well-organized, and clear. In addition, they want it to be anointed. Because of this, they do all they can to achieve these goals. They pray, read, study, and make notes. This takes a considerable amount of time but it is the cost of doing well. This is what the minister wants and it is what the people need. A timely message can create a vision, birth a ministry, or get someone through a crisis. More importantly, the Lord wants a good message given.

However, in spite of all of these efforts, there are times when things don’t go as planned. The frustrating part of all this is that we don’t always know why. I have prepared sermons that I thought were going to be powerful. There was “fire” on the page. I could imagine preaching them and they were powerful. But when I preached the sermon there was no fire. The preparation and the presentation were two different experiences. I have had other sermons I preached in which I wondered if I was saying anything significant and they had an impact far beyond what I expected. I confess I don’t know what made the difference, perhaps it was me, and perhaps it was the congregation. Ultimately God is the one who works through His Word.

In addition, there are those inadvertent mistakes that can sometimes find their way into our sermons. Let me give you an example. In the course of preaching have you ever created a new Scripture? I have. What I mean is that you cited a Scripture that does not exist. You said something like “As Paul tells us in Romans 17.” Wait a minute, there are only sixteen chapters in Romans. What likely happened in this case is that you cited the verse number but happened to leave out the chapter number. Or you get a detail in a biblical story wrong? You mentioned King David going to the Temple. Well this is problematic because the Temple was not constructed until the time of Solomon. These things were not said on purpose, they were honest mistakes, slips of the tongue. They can be embarrassing, indeed they can be frustrating (and most preachers have likely had this happen at some point). Depending on how much of a perfectionist you are you may beat yourself up over these mistakes.

Let me as a preacher say that I believe ministers should do the best that they possibly can in their sermons. It is a sacred responsibility, and there is a certain degree of satisfaction that comes from doing it well. But if you are preaching and at some point you make a mistake, like a slip of the tongue similar to the ones I mentioned above, don’t be too hard on yourself. As human beings we are fallible and sometimes make mistakes (this is true of Christians). These mistakes can serve some redemptive purposes. They can keep us humble and more dependent on God. If you have a bad moment in a sermon don’t let it get you down and don’t dwell on it. God knew when He called you that you wouldn’t always do it perfectly. Get up and try to do better the next time. God is not done with you or me yet.

About the Author: John Lathrop

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> Preaching Practices https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/preaching-practices/ Mon, 15 Jun 2020 17:51:06 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=3061

Preaching is an important activity, God uses it to get His word to people, both sinners and saints. In the Bible Noah is called “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Pet. 2:5 NIV). The apostles’ Peter and Paul preached and we have multiple examples of them doing so (Acts 2:14-39; 3:12-26; 4:8-12; 13:16-47;17:22-31). However, preaching was by no means limited to the apostles. In Acts 7 we see that Stephen preached (Acts 7:2-53) and in Acts 8 we read that Philip preached in Samaria (Acts 8:4-6). Many others also preached.

Preaching is not just talking, it has a specific content. The people I mentioned above spoke God’s message, His word. Paul instructed his coworker Timothy to do the same. He told him to “Preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:2 NIV). In another place he told him that this was to be a regular part of his ministry (1 Tim. 4:13). Preaching was a regular practice in the first-century church and it should be now. Preaching is to be part of the ongoing legacy of the church. The reason for this is that people still need to be instructed in the word of God.

I have been preaching for about 37 years. Like any preacher I have my favorite themes, there are certain texts and topics that I like to preach. That being said I realize that I cannot afford to preach only what I like. The apostle Paul’s example provides us with a pattern that we should all seek to follow, that pattern is to present “the word of God in it fullness” (Col. 1:25 NIV). If you are a guest speaker you probably don’t have much of an opportunity to do that, you can only seek to adequately cover the text you are preaching at the time. If you are the pastor of a church you have more of an opportunity to impart to your hearers “the whole will of God” (Acts 20:27 NIV) because you preach week after week (sometimes multiple times per week).

Every minister has their own preaching style which has probably developed based on what they have seen, how they have been instructed, who they are as a person, and what they are comfortable with. We are all unique individuals and the Lord can use each of us with our differences, strengths, and weaknesses. Below I will share my preaching practices. What I gravitate toward you may not like, or it may not work for you. That is fine, each of us has to do what is effective.

A number of years ago I had a younger minister ask me if I had ever done any “Saturday night specials.” I didn’t know what he was talking about. He explained. What he was asking was whether I ever found myself working on my sermon on the Saturday night before the Sunday I was to preach it. I confess I have had a few of those. However, I told him that I tried not to let that happen. I like to have my sermons prepared well before Saturday. Maybe some people work well under pressure but I don’t. I think the quality of my preaching tends to decline when I prepare my sermon at the last minute. I prefer to have time to adequately ponder and prepare the text. I realize this cannot always be done but as much as possible I think it should be done.

I am not pastoring now so I do not preach as frequently as I used to. Much of what I have written below is based on my preaching experience while I was involved in pastoral ministry. Though I must admit that my methods remain the same to this day. At the outset let me say that though I typically preach in certain ways that does not mean I have not preached in other ways. For example, though I don’t normally preach topically I have done so on occasion. By that I mean that I took a text, focused on a keyword in it and then referenced other biblical texts to draw out the meaning or significance of that word. One example of this would be preaching on the word “Sabbath.” A preacher could start with the commandment to keep the Sabbath in Exodus 20:8-11 and then draw from other texts, in both the Old and New Testaments that mention the Sabbath in order to highlight some of the meaning or significance of it.

Generally, I like to either preach through a biblical book or do a series. On Sunday mornings I preached through the Gospel of Matthew, the Book of Acts, Philippians, and Ruth. I also preached a number of series. Once, inspired by the title of Dr. Michael Brown’s book Whatever Happened to the Power of God? I preached a series of sermons on that theme. For that series I focused on Judges 6:13, Psalm 74:9, and Habakkuk 3:2. Each text I chose made reference to the absence of the power of God. There were times I preached one topic one week and a completely different one the next. I don’t think this is for the most part the best thing to do. However, if you are a guest speaker you probably cannot preach through a biblical book (except perhaps Philemon, 2 John or 3 John) or do a series, you only get to preach one sermon.

Another practice I follow is giving the historical background of the text I am preaching on. I generally do this at the beginning of the sermon. I start by talking about things like who wrote the text, to whom, and what the circumstances were at the time. This is history, but it is important history. I do this before trying to draw out a modern-day application of the text. Some of the reading I have done has indicated that this is a very important step in Bible study. Notable in this respect is Fee & Stuart’s book How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth. I can definitely see the value of this practice.

I remember many years ago, when I was a relatively new believer, hearing our pastor’s wife speaking to her husband. She was telling him that she could identify the points in his sermon. She began to list them. I think each point began with the same letter. I later learned that this is one of the things preachers are taught to do in order to help them organize their sermons. At the time I never realized that preachers did this! It was news to me; of course this was before the days of PowerPoint, in some churches today we can now read the sermon points on the screen. I confess I regularly use alliteration for the points of my sermons. I find that this practice, which creates an outline, is helpful in organizing the thoughts and flow of the sermon. However, there have been times when I just could not find words with the same letter that would lend themselves to the points I wanted to make in the sermon. When that happened I just went with the flow of thought without having the convenient structure of alliteration.

When I was involved in pastoral ministry periodically we would have a guest speaker at the church. On one occasion the guest speaker was a man I went to Bible school with years earlier. He had served for some time on the mission field. Before he got up to speak he asked me if he could move the microphone or take it out of its stand. I told him he could do whatever he wanted. He told me he was a guest. Having been a guest speaker in a number of churches he knew the importance of asking permission for some things before he did them.

Years later I found myself doing something similar. Since I am no longer pastoring I preach when I am invited to do so. This being the case I preach in different denominations. In fact, though I am an ordained Pentecostal I do more preaching in non-Pentecostal churches. In one of the churches I have preached frequently, their usual practice is to have the text that is going to be preached read (by the minister or someone else), then a song is sung, and after that, the minister preaches. I complied with this practice a number of times. However, to me, it seems more natural to read the text and then proceed immediately into preaching from it. Because I have a relationship with this church I asked if I could read the text and then preach rather than have a song between the reading and the preaching. I was allowed to make this change.

As you can see I am pretty much “old school.” But I have found that it works for me. I really want to give a good word when I speak (I think most ministers do). We have to find what works for us. This will in large measure be a product of our experience, training, personality, and preference. The important thing is that we “Preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:2 NIV) and to do so with the anointing of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:4; 1 Thess. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:12).

About the Author

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> New People https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/new-people/ Tue, 21 Apr 2020 17:28:53 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=3056

The church is made up of new people. At least that is the way it is supposed to be. The apostle Paul, writing to the church in Corinth, said that if a person is in Christ he or she is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). Those who are new creations are not controlled by the desires of the sinful nature but by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:9). Submitting to the control of the Spirit makes one holy, conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). That is God’s desire: changed lives, people made new.

But when we speak about new people in the church we may also mean something else. We may mean that there are people who formerly did not attend our church who now do. This can be for a number of reasons. One is that they have recently come to the Lord, they are among those that the Lord has added to the church (Acts 2:47). This is always desirable, and is especially encouraging if someone in the local church was instrumental in leading them to the Lord. New converts generally have great zeal. Another reason why we may have new people in the church is because they have moved into the area where the church is located. This can happen quite frequently in “college towns,” that is, areas that people typically move to in order to go to school. People who relocate for a new job may also find their way into our churches. And lastly, we may find some new people in our midst because they have left another church. This can be for good, or not so good, reasons.

Having new people attend the church is usually considered a plus. This is perhaps especially encouraging if the church is small, a larger crowd is a blessing. Not only is it nice to see an additional face or two in service but it helps boost morale. This is true not only for the minister but also for the church body. In some sense it changes the dynamic in the congregation. This change can prove to be a “breath of fresh air” that provides a sense of “lift” to the church. It makes people feel good. In some cases it can be interpreted as a sign of growth, especially if these new people continue to attend. Having larger numbers in attendance at services is great and experiencing the boost in morale can be quite beneficial, but having new people can add something else to the church as well.

When I first assumed the pastorate of the English congregation in a Pentecostal church we were very light on musicians. There was one man in the church who could play the piano and he would play for the services if he was given the songs in advance. When he was away we sometimes had a woman from another church come in to play. On occasion I played the guitar for Sunday service. We had no worship leaders and so I lead the worship. I liked to sing but I would not say that leading worship was one of my strengths. We did the best we could with what we had.

In time the situation changed. Others in the church learned to play instruments, or matured to the point where they felt comfortable enough to play in service, and we had some new people come into the church as well. Over the course of time we went from having one piano player to a complete worship team. We had a piano, electric keyboard, bass guitar, electric guitar, and drums. In addition we had some new people come into the church who led worship. It was a very good group; a number of the musicians could play more than one instrument. Some of the new editions were people who were ethnically different than the people of our congregation. These newcomers were welcomed by the church and proved to be a great blessing to all of us. The Lord has a way of sending just the right people to help improve the ministry of the local church.

Music was not the only area in which new people helped improve the life of the church. We saw a greater interest and participation in prayer and spiritual gifts due to the influence of some newcomers. Their influence in these ministries drew some who had been in the church for years into a greater participation in both of these areas. So it is not just the gifts or talents that new people bring to the church that make a difference, their impact on others who are already there can help change the church.

We need the faithfulness and consistency of long time members of the church but we also need new people. New people can help facilitate change. They increase our numbers, bring new life, add a fresh perspective, bring their spiritual gifts, and can generally encourage the church. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the Lord moves His people around from time to time. I am not advocating the practice of church hopping but merely saying that at times the Lord moves His people around because He has a mission for them to complete, and this mission is in the church. It is also true that each of us, regardless of how long we have been in the church, need to be new people. We need to have an ever growing revelation of the Lord and a greater relationship with Him. In short, we need to be constantly made new. May the Lord help each of us to continue to cooperate with Him and with one another, so that we can be the best church possible, the church He desires us to be.

About the Author

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> I Am Pentecostal https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/i-am-pentecostal/ Tue, 21 Apr 2020 17:08:52 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=3053

We live in a world in which labels are very important, a trip to the grocery store will make this clear. Virtually every item in the store has a label on it. The label tells us such things as the brand name, the volume or serving size, and other relevant information about the product. Based on this information we can determine if this is the product we want or not. If the truth be told and some items were not labeled we would not know whether we were buying fruit juice or a cleaning agent!

Products are not the only things that are labeled. People are, at times, labeled too. Sometimes people are labeled by others and at other times people label themselves. One area of life in which a person may label him or herself is with regard to their faith (or lack of it). For example, a person might say “I’m an atheist,” another might say “I’m an agnostic,” a third might say “I’m a Pentecostal.” We know what the atheist means, he or she does not believe in God. We also know what the agnostic means, they are not sure what they believe. But what does it mean when someone says “I’m a Pentecostal”? This statement is open to a number of different interpretations, let me explain.

When someone says “I’m Pentecostal” it could mean that their family comes from this church tradition. That is, their parents, grandparents, or other significant family members were Pentecostals. This is the faith of choice of those that they are closest too. This is not something unique to people who have families that have a history in the Pentecostal church. Many people today identify themselves with a particular religious movement or denomination. Some say this because they want to be seen as people who have faith. However, some who identify themselves in this way may not actually be Christians, or, in the case I am addressing, actually be involved in a Pentecostal church. It just happens to be the faith that their family had, and they were born into that family.

Another person may identify themselves as a Pentecostal and it can mean something different. It may mean that they are a Christian who attends a Pentecostal church. The church might be affiliated with one of the major Pentecostal denominations, such as the Assemblies of God, the Church of God (Cleveland, TN), the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, or it could be an independent Pentecostal Church. This person is connected to a local church and they are in some sense participating in it. At the very least they are attending the church once a week. If other services are available they may be attending those too. It is also possible that they may be involved in ministry, serving in some capacity in the church.
A third person may say they are Pentecostal and mean that they are theologically Pentecostal. As a Christian they believe in the distinctive doctrine of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. They also believe that there is a physical sign that accompanies this experience. This sign is speaking in tongues, such as we find in a number of texts in the book of Acts. Believing Pentecostal doctrine doesn’t necessarily guarantee that a person actually has the experience. This should not be taken as a derogatory statement; they may desire it but they have not as yet received it. Many who are in ministry know that sometimes there is a delay before a person receives. There are several possible reasons for this. This was my experience, it was a number of years before I received. A person’s acceptance of Pentecostal theology is a major plus, if they believe it is a biblical teaching they will press on in order to receive it.

Lastly, a person may say “I’m Pentecostal” and mean that they are a Christian who is experientially Pentecostal. That is, they have been filled with the Holy Spirit and do speak in tongues. They may have received as the apostles and Cornelius and his household did with no one laying hands on them (Acts 2 & 10). Or they may have received when someone did laid hands on them as when Peter and John ministered to the Samaritans or when Paul ministered to the Ephesians (Acts 8 & 19). They may have received when they were in a group or when they were alone. However it happened, they received. This person may, or may not, actually attend a Pentecostal church. There are many people in the world who are Pentecostal in experience who do not actually attend a church that is denominationally Pentecostal.

This brief survey shows that the Pentecostal label can mean different things. A person can be historically, denominationally, theologically, or experientially Pentecostal. These all indicate different levels of acceptance or involvement. Some peoples’ experience may involve more than one of these categories. For example, a person might be theologically and experientially Pentecostal. Someone else might be denominationally, theologically, and experientially Pentecostal. It is also possible that a person’s experience could include all four categories.

The most important aspect of being Pentecostal is being Pentecostal in experience. This involves speaking in tongues, such as we find in the book of Acts. But being Pentecostal involves more than that. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is intended to give us power to be witnesses for Jesus, we have that on the highest authority, Jesus himself said that (Acts 1:8). Speaking to others about Jesus is very important (Matt. 24:14; Mark 16:15) and it is something that every Pentecostal believer should do. Let us equally display this evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. May God help us to walk in the fullness of the power that He intended when He poured out His Spirit upon us as His sons and daughters. It will help change the world.

About the Author

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/and-they-overcame-him-by-the-blood-of-the-lamb-and-by-the-word-of-their-testimony-and-they-did-not-love-their-lives-to-the-death/ Tue, 21 Apr 2020 16:50:30 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=3050

One of the judgements of God on His people who refuse to listen to Him is that “one will chase a thousand and two will chase ten thousand.” [Deut. 32:30] God is constantly judging His people whether it be at the Lord’s Table, where there is a judging between those who properly and improperly discern the body of Christ, or in the reality that “you will reap what you have sown,” or, as just pointed out, that an inordinate fear would cause His people to “flee when no one is pursuing,” [Lev. 26:17] as is the case in too many believer’s lives today when confronted with the Coronavirus 19 scare.  

This doesn’t mean God is judging you on your salvation, but rather in the way you experience life and His blessing – or lack of them. We must be careful not to so quickly assign the reason for judgement to any specific sinful actions on the part of non-believers. For instance, many Christians, with me being a chief offender in the past, are quick to point to our culture’s embrace of homosexuality and/or abortion-on-demand as reasons for God’s judgement. Perhaps this is part of it, however God’s Word is clear that “Judgement begins in the house of God.” [1 Peter 4:17]

The way Christians have responded to this current epidemic is almost completely opposite to how our brothers and sisters responded in the past to far deadlier outbreaks. Today we’re behaving no differently than unbelievers. Instead of laying hands on the sick and praying for them, we’re isolating them and fear to be around them. And frankly, the mortality risk is far, far less than what Christians faced during the savage plague times. During the Black Plague, unbelievers not only engaged in “social distancing” and quarantine but went so far as to throw out into the streets family members who became infected and sick. Christians went out and brought the diseased into their homes and cared for them. Amazingly, while they didn’t love their lives unto death, far fewer Christians died than did unbelievers. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” [Rev. 12:11] Perhaps it’s time we repent of our fear and determine, by the Spirit of God, not to love our lives so much we ignore His commands to care for the weak, sick and defenseless. May God restore what the devourer has taken!

]]> Servants https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/servants/ Sat, 28 Mar 2020 17:09:10 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=3026

In 1 Corinthians 16:15 the apostle Paul made mention of “the household of Stephanas” (NIV). Stephanas was obviously the most prominent person in the group because the household was called by his name. Sometimes in the New Testament we are given more specific information about individuals than what we find in this verse. For example, at times a person was identified not only by their name but also by where they were from. Two examples of this come immediately to mind. Joseph, who came to take the body of Jesus down from the cross, was from Arimathea (Mark 15:43-45). Saul, who became an apostle, was described as being from Tarsus. In Acts 9:11 the Lord said that Saul was from Tarsus, in Acts 21:39 Saul/Paul said the same thing. At other times people were identified by their family connections. One example of this is the apostles James and John, they were identified as being “the sons of Zebedee” (Mark 10:35 NIV). In the days of the first-century church people did not seem to use the first and last name format that we typically use in the United States. Most people were called by their first names. Stephanas’ name does not have any additional information attached to it, however, he was mentioned two other times in 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 1:16 Paul tells us that he baptized Stephanas and his family, and in 1 Corinthians 16:17 we learn that he was one of the people who brought supplies to Paul. From what Paul wrote it is clear that he knew this family personally.

In addition to not knowing much about Stephanus we know even less about his household. For starters we do not know how many people were in it. Neither do we know how many of them were men and how many were women. We also do not know what ages they were. We don’t know what they did for work or what kind of businesses they were involved in. So a lot of the particulars about this household are not given to us. However, these details are not the things that are important. The things that are important, the things that Paul, and God, want the church to know concerns their spiritual qualities.

Paul tells us that Stephanas and his household were the first Christians in Achaia (1 Cor. 16:15). So they were not only all part of the same physical family, they were also all part of the same spiritual family, the family of God. In the New Testament we can find other examples of families coming to the Lord. Lydia and her household came to the Lord (Acts 16:14-15) as did the Philippian jailer and his household (Acts 16:30-34). The fact that Stephanas and the other members of his household came to the Lord was good news, but the good news did not end there.

After their conversions these people began to serve the Lord. They did this by participating in ministry, they served other people. Paul does not go into any detail about this, he speaks in very general terms. However, he does tell us who they served; he tells us that they served “the Lord’s people” (1 Cor. 16:15 NIV), that is, they served the church. We are also not told if they held any official ministry positions in the church, such as being elders or deacons. But those things are not really important. What is important, and what is emphasized, is that they served. All genuine ministry is service. That being said, their service may not have taken place just during the times when the church was gathered together for worship. Paul was silent about the what and where of their ministry.

Believers can serve one another anytime, no matter what day it is, or what time it is. This is important, because needs do not always arise during the times when the church is gathered together. The household of Stephanas were servants, the contemporary church could use more servants. When I was studying for the ministry my family and I lived in a three family house. Our landlords were a Christian couple who viewed their house as a ministry. Most of the tenants that they took in were, like me, ministerial students. They did not charge high rent, they allowed us to use their washing machine, and they supplied food to us on a number of occasions. This couple truly ministered to the saints.

Paul held up the household of Stephanas as an example. They were, and are, a good model for Christians to follow; they lived out the biblical truth of servanthood. We need to imitate them. Paul told the church in Corinth to submit to people like them and to all who participate in the work of ministry. May God grant us grace to be those who are truly meeting needs. Jesus set forth servanthood as an important quality for His people to have. Let us lay hold of it and make it increasingly evident in the body of Christ. It can do much to strengthen and empower the church as each member does his or her part.

About the Author

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> Ministerial Warnings https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/ministerial-warnings/ Fri, 21 Feb 2020 19:46:07 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=2979

Recently I was reading Acts 20. In this chapter, a good part of the text is devoted to the apostle Paul’s words to the elders of the church in Ephesus. You can read an extended account about the early days of this church in Acts 19. This meeting with the elders was one that Paul requested; he asked them to come and meet with him at Miletus (Acts 20:17). When he spoke to them he had some very serious things to say. I have read this passage many times and have preached from it. But this time when I read the text something, in particular, caught my eye. In Acts 20:28 Paul said, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers” (NIV). These were the words of a senior Christian leader to other Christian leaders. Paul was an apostle and he spoke to the elders, who were local church leaders. He charged them with diligence concerning both their personal lives and the lives of the people who sat under their care.

This is very important. I once sat under a pastor who made a statement to the effect that one of the easiest places to backslide is in the ministry. That may sound odd, or unlikely, but it is true. Sometimes ministers can be so taken up with ministering to, and caring for, the church that they do not give proper attention to their own spiritual lives. Church leaders, like all other Christians, are susceptible to error and sin, no one is immune. This being the case, care needs to be taken regarding one’s personal spiritual life. Paul knew the dangers of the ministry. When he wrote to the believers in Corinth he spoke about his own diligence in caring for himself, so that after preaching to others, he himself would not be disqualified (1 Cor. 9:27). Paul practiced what he preached. In Acts 20 he urged the Ephesian elders to beware and take care. Please note that he said this to the whole group.

Paul’s words to the Ephesian elders reminded me of something he wrote in one of his letters. In 1 Timothy 4:16, he wrote “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (NIV). The wording here is different from what he said in Acts 20:28, but the basic message is the same. His message was: take care of your own life so you can take care of the lives of others. However, the verse in 1 Timothy further breaks down the issue of self-care; Paul mentioned two major areas that Timothy was to give attention to. He told him to watch his doctrine (what he believed and taught) and how he behaved. Timothy was in the city of Ephesus when Paul wrote to him (1 Tim. 1:3). It is worth noting that both the elders I mentioned above and Timothy, received similar warnings and that all of them ministered in the church in the city of Ephesus. It makes me wonder if there was a particularly vulnerability for ministers in that city. We know the city had a major idol, the image of Diana, and some demonic activity because there were exorcists in the city (Acts 19:13).

Just before I graduated from seminary I attended a banquet at the school’s main campus. The speaker at this event spoke from the verse I cited in the previous paragraph, 1 Timothy 4:16. He urged those of us who were graduating to watch our lives and doctrine closely. Some, like me, were probably already in ministry, while others may have been in the early stages of starting theirs. Though I cannot give specifics concerning the makeup of the group of ministerial students who were present at that banquet I think I can say with confidence that it was diverse. The students probably consisted of men and women, of different ages, and different ethnicities. They would likely serve in different denominational and perhaps non-denominational churches and ministries located in different places in the world. Paul’s words are very relevant; they are appropriate for ministers in every place at every time in history. All of us who hold leadership positions in Christ’s church do well to periodically take a brief personal inventory to see if things are really well with our souls. A little introspection can be a good thing.

As we seek to lead the church, we need to be careful that we do not bypass the scriptural directives addressed to leaders. These texts were given for a reason; they are meant to help us. If we fail to heed these ministerial warnings we do so not only to our own hurt but also potentially to the detriment of others. May God help us to hear and heed Paul’s words both in Acts 20 and in 1 Timothy 4:16. The Lord’s church depends on it.

About the Author

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> ‘Dominion’ Review: An Amazing Historical Account Of How The Cross of Christ Transformed The World https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/dominion-review-an-amazing-historical-account-of-how-the-cross-of-christ-transformed-the-world/ Tue, 11 Feb 2020 15:37:05 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=2974 “The greatest story ever told.”

The scandal of the Gospel message, as the Apostle Paul so starkly framed it, is from a human standpoint, “an offense,” “foolishness,” a “stumbling block,” and “folly.” Just how unthinkable that an instrument of degradation and torture, a method of death that was used to demonstrate the utter worthlessness of the person hanging naked and ignored, would metamorphose into a symbol of victory is nothing less than miraculous. For Paul to call out the cross as reason to glory in, or boast about1 would seem to be a ludicrous claim that marked him as a madman. However, more than two thousand years following Jesus’ crucifixion, the power of Christ’s cross, inseparable from His resurrection, not only provided the means of salvation to believers but has been the cornerstone of the transformation of the entire world.

Indeed, one may even say that the Christian faith, with 2.5 billion adherents, or almost one-third of the world’s population with followers in every nation on earth, has achieved much of the results Jesus called his followers to pursue in His Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”2

The New Testament is clear that Jesus is the sovereign Ruler over the nations and that His dominion is unchallenged as “He is the head over every power and authority.”3 Undoubtedly any book that would seek to chronicle the extensive dominion that has been achieved would be a massive undertaking and require an author with extensive knowledge of world history before Christ so there would be a way to tell this fascinating story in the requisite context of how “the greatest story ever told” plays out. Providentially, one might think, this is exactly what you find in “Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World.”

“Dominion,” at almost 550 pages, takes a comprehensive look at how faith in Jesus Christ, through His death on a cross, and the claims which this particular method of death made upon His followers, has turned the entire world upside-down for the better. The author, Tom Holland, is a highly-regarded British writer who has previously focused primarily on ancient and medieval history and it pays off in this sweeping narrative of Christian expansion through the centuries. It turns out that over the past 2,000 years Christian thought has not only permeated every sphere, but dominates the historical record and defines the modern understanding of human action and events, even by the adherents of rival religions, or by those who claim no religion at all.

The book begins with a well-researched chronicle of the origins of crucifixion, beginning some 500 years prior to Jesus’ birth, which is crucial to understanding the miraculous nature of the cross becoming the symbol of freedom and self-sacrificing service. Mr. Holland makes note that Jesus’ death on the cross is an undisputed historical fact and then moves on to show specifically why His crucifixion as a method of death has made all the earth-shaking changes for the good of all humanity possible. As a bonus, he is an excellent writer who provides a riveting account of world events shaped by the cross as a meaning-packed symbol of Jesus’ death.

And “Dominion” leaves no doubt that the cross is truly shocking, beginning with its powerful narrative of the origins of crucifixion, a form of punishment and death that is so gruesome and outside the bounds of what a human being should be subjected to that no one claimed its origins or even spoke about it. That a man could die this type of death and then be worshiped as God is so amazing in itself that, while cringing at the vivid depiction of crucifixion as an inhuman reality, I found myself contemplating the mysterious ways of God, His unfathomable love and His sovereign control over human events. To transform a mechanism of death that testified to the utter contempt for the one exposed, the worthlessness of the weak and defenseless, into the most powerful symbol of life, love and self-sacrifice that continues to extend its reach, is the amazing story told in “Dominion.”

Until Jesus’ death on the cross divinity was “for victors, and heroes, and kings. Its measure was the power to torture one’s enemies, not to suffer it oneself…That a man who had himself been crucified might be hailed as a god could not help but be seen by people everywhere across the Roman world as scandalous, obscene, grotesque.” And for the Jews, it was even more repellent. “This conviction, that a crucified criminal might somehow be a part of the identity of the one God of Israel” was blasphemy and the height of absurdity. As the apostle Paul correctly observed, it “was foolishness to the Greek and a stumbling block to the Jew.”

Even for Christians, who, like Paul, embraced and gloried in the cross, there were limits to how they would portray it. So horrific was this method of torture that it took more than 400 years after Jesus’ death for artists to find it an acceptable theme and even then it was “sanctified.” “In Christ’s agonies had been the index of His defeat of evil. This was why, triumphant even on the implement of His torture, He was never shown as suffering pain. His expression was one of serenity.”

But the cursed nature of the cross was the very thing that undergird the faith. Jesus had “suffered the death of a slave, not struggling against it but submitting willingly to the lash,” and;

If Paul did not stint, in a province adorned with monuments to Caesar, in hammering home the full horror and humiliation of Jesus’ death, then it was because, without the crucifixion, he would have had no gospel to proclaim. Christ, by making himself nothing, by taking on the very nature of a slave, had plumbed the depths to which only the lowers, the poorest, the most persecuted and abused of mortals were confined. If Paul could not leave the sheer wonder of this alone, if he risked everything to proclaim it to strangers likely to find it disgusting, or lunatic, or both, then that was because he had been brought by his vision of the risen Jesus to gaze directly into what it meant for him and for all the world. That Christ—whose participation in the divine sovereignty over space and time he seems never to have doubted—had become human, and suffered death on the ultimate instrument of torture, was precisely the measure of Paul’s understanding of God: the He was love. The world stood transformed as a result.

Mr. Holland proceeds to tell how the willingness of Christ to suffer and die a cursed death out of love for mankind, accepting pain and humiliation to himself of the deepest nature, would provide the foundation stone on which an entirely new and improved world-order would be built upon. Every human, not simply the rich and powerful, was now extremely valuable. The rich, rather than despise and take advantage of the poor, were to use their wealth to care for them. Those in positions of authority and power were to serve the weak and disadvantaged, rather than be served by them. The first were to become last and the last first. A paragraph that most powerfully sums up this amazing paradigm-shift comes in the fifth chapter (Charity) of “Dominion”:

A concern for the downtrodden could not merely be summoned into existence out of nothing. The logic that inspired two wealthy and educated men such as Basil and Gregory to devote their lives to the poor derived from the very fundamentals of their faith. ‘Do not despise these people in their abjection; do not think they merit no respect.’ So Gregory urged. ‘Reflect on who they are, and you will understand their dignity; they have taken upon them the person of our Saviour. For he, the compassionate, has given them his own person.’ Gregory, more clearly than anyone before him, traced the implications of Christ’s choice to live and die as one of the poor to its logical conclusion. Dignity, which no philosopher had ever taught might be possessed by the stinking, toiling masses, was for all. There was no human existence so wretched, none so despised or vulnerable, that it did not bear witness to the image of God. Divine love for the outcast and derelict demanded that mortals love them too.

Mr. Holland fills his book with examples of men and women who throughout the centuries willingly sacrifice great power, wealth, even their lives, to serve the poor, the sick, the outcast, driven by the message of Christ’s cross. No matter the hardship— the physical demands were great and the danger constant, Christian missionaries joyfully undertook Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Venturing into savage areas where demons were worshipped and human sacrifice abounded, monks understood that “all the world was theirs to illumine with the blaze of Christ.” Many of them had been delivered from vicious and barbaric lives and cultures of death themselves and “as vividly as anyone, they understood what it was to be born again. ‘The old has gone, the new has come!’” The message of the greatness of God’s love would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, and it would do so no matter the personal sacrifice. Missionaries weighed the cost of carrying the cross of Christ and counted their lives as nothing for the privilege of to do so.

Mr. Holland has taken the time to understand the stunning nature of what has taken place and, more importantly, give due credit to the power of the Christian faith, not only in overthrowing an existing worldview but empowering and sustaining the creation of something wholly new: The ongoing establishment of the kingdom of God on earth. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” “Dominion” is in effect the story of a mustard seed growing into a tree where the branches cover the earth and all beasts and birds find cover. Mr. Holland provides an excellent Christian interpretation of history and the benefits that it has brought to all people and nations, whether they confess Christ or not.

Indeed, one of the first things you realize as you move through his account is his treatment of Christians. Unlike so many authors today, Mr. Holland doesn’t impute evil motives into the hearts of people he’s writing about. That doesn’t mean he glosses over their faults, failures and hypocrisy, but that he sees them as imperfect men and women truly grappling with their faith. This is most evident in his portrayal of emperors and kings such as Constantine, who perhaps started out as politically motivated to confess Christ, and complained of questions and fights over doctrine defining His Nature, but “it was dawning on Constantine that these questions might be naive. The issues of who Christ had truly been, in what way He could have been both human and divine, and how the Trinity was best defined, were hardly idle ones, after all. How could God properly be worshipped, and His approval for Rome’s rule of the world thereby be assured, if His very nature was in dispute?” Constantine took the faith seriously, as well as how to act as what he believed to be his elevation as a God-ordained ruler.

Likewise Charlemagne. A Christian king who is often vilified for his forced baptism of the pagan German tribes is treated fairly, even as the author points out the savageness of his actions. Charlemagne spent years trying to maintain treaties with the Saxons, only to have those agreements broken as soon as the ink was dry. His forced baptism produced bloody results, with 4,500 prisoners beheaded in one day. But Charlemagne was doing his best to obey Christ and brought in a brilliant Christian scholar who strongly opposed his policy to advise him. Persuasion, not force, was God’s way, he said, and Charlemagne, rescinded the law. The reader may be surprised to learn that Charlemagne “enjoyed nothing more than discussing theology with Alcuin” and that the king “had full confidence in his advisor” and knew that his “commitment to the creation of a properly Christian people was absolute.”

Mr. Holland makes sure to include the powerful account of Charlemagne’s creation of an entire system of monasteries that were given the mission of wiping out illiteracy and teaching everyone in his kingdom how to read the Bible. The king was the first to make the Bible accessible to the masses, bringing innovative features to the project. “Capital letters were deployed to signal the start of new sentences. For the first time, a single stroke like a lightning-flash was introduced to indicate doubt: the question mark. Each compendium of scripture, so one monk declared, was ‘a library beyond compare.’” Charlemagne’s edict meant that “Even the meanest peasant scratching a living beside the dankest wood had to be provided with ready access to Christian instruction…Increasingly, in the depths of the Frankish countryside, there was no aspect of existence that Christian teaching did not touch.”

Perhaps just as importantly, churchmen are also treated as real people of real faith, rather than the caricatures employed by many historians today. The author gives us a much fuller account of Galileo and the Church, and the reality is that the church, far from being anti-science, not only created the environment for scientific discovery to take place, but helped push new findings forward. The real problem in pursuing new ideas, according to Kitty Furguson, who has a magnificent account of this in her book, “Measuring the Universe,” was one we’re familiar with today. “[T]he most outspoken and dogmatic reactions came not from churchmen but from conservative astronomers in the universities, who continued to insist that the authority of Aristotle and Ptolemy must not be questioned. Why bother to observe nature or look through a telescope when the ancients had already given the answers?”4 The “scientific” consensus held to a non-Christian paradigm. The Church fought back against that type of thinking. No doubt Pope Urban VIII made ill-advised decisions, but they were based on personal vendettas, not faith vs. science face-offs, and you can find the saga covered in the 14th chapter of Dominion.

One other event deserves to be highlighted if only because it reminds us of what is even manifest in political leaders even today—how important the church and her leaders were/are in challenging imperial authority and forcing kings and heads of state to take account the Church’s sovereignty. Then and now, when sin and wrong are confronted by church leaders, politicians and rulers will go to incredible lengths to stay in the good graces of the Church and hold onto at least a vestige of ecclesiastic favor. That event, a battle between Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV, played out in 1076 when the king attempted to depose the pope because Gregory refused to accept that the king had the right to install bishops. As Mr. Holland pointedly describes it, this was “a momentous step: for this—prohibiting kings from poking their noses into the business of the Church—had struck at the very heart of how the world was ordered.”

The king issued a proclamation: “Let another sit upon Saint Peter’s throne.” Gregory not only defied the king, but issued a response that brought the ruler to his knees before him. Literally. Pope Gregory “declared that Henry was ‘bound with the chain of anathema and excommunicated from the Church. His subjects were absolved of all their oaths of loyalty to him. Henry himself, as a tyrant and an enemy of God, was deposed. The impact of this pronouncement proved devastating. Henry’s authority went into meltdown.”

To such straits was his authority reduced that he settled on a desperate gambit. Crossing the Alps in the dead of winter, he headed for Canossa, a castle in the northern Apennines where he knew that Gregory was staying. For three days, ‘barefoot, and clad in wool, the heir of Constantine and Charlemagne stood shivering before the gates of the castle’s innermost wall. Finally, ordering the gates unbarred, and summoning Henry into his presence, Gregory absolved the penitent with a kiss. ‘The king of Rome, rather than being honored as a universal monarch, had been treated instead as merely a human being—a creature molded out of clay.

Pastor’s and church leaders who believe that the Church is no longer an important institution with the ability to bestow or withdraw legitimacy on rulers should take note of those politicians who, when facing simply the ban on receiving Communion, not full excommunication itself, will go to great lengths to make sure they find a priest or bishop willing to grant public approval—even if not so far as to change their actual behavior. For example, as a confessing Catholic, Nancy Pelosi must adhere to the Church’s teaching on abortion, that it is the unlawful taking of human life and a violation of God’s law. At one point, confronted by her political and national position advocating for abortion she faced a potential ban in her home diocese from the Lord’s Table. Alarmed by the situation, she, like Henry, sought out the Pope to make sure she could continue at the Table.

Unfortunately, this was not a Henry/Gregory moment. The politician did not repent and yet the pope, while mentioning to her what a grave sin abortion supposedly is, bestowed a high profile award for other areas of work Mrs. Pelosi undertook as a politician, essentially relegating the legal murder of children to an unimportant decision left to the individual conscience. Church acquiescence for worldly praise. But the point remains that the Church is truly God’s embassy on earth and when she regains her confidence it will again be true that “many nations will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.”5

The scope of Mr. Holland’s story covers kings, rulers, scholars, craftsmen and churchmen from around the world and through the present, which includes an excellent section on China and her great and ancient civilization, the Reformation and Enlightenment, Darwin’s theory of evolution and its ramifications, and the Abolition movement that miraculously took hold throughout the world as the Christian faith defined it as “a crime against humanity” even as Islamic leaders stated that “any ban on slavery would be ‘against our religion’…The owning of slaves was licensed by the Qur’an, by the example of Muhammad himself, and by the Sunna, that great corpus of Islamic traditions and practices. Who, then, were Christians to demand its abolition?” But demand—and achieve—it Christians did and the dominion of the cross was extended.

The book includes a section on the elevation of women to equality with men, culminating in the Christian roots of the present-day “#MeToo” movement. Again, the author credits the Apostle Paul and the Christian faith with creating a culture that required the free consent of the weaker vessel, and actually taught that it should be within the bounds of a loving marriage. Brute strength and positions of power could not justify the penetration of a woman against her will.

Implicit in #MeToo was the same call to sexual continence that had reverberated throughout the Church’s history. Protestors who marched in the red cloaks of handmaids were summoning men to exercise control over their lusts just as the Puritans had done. Appetites that had been hail by enthusiasts for sexual liberation as Dionysiac stood condemned once again as predatory and violent. The human body was not an object, not a commodity to be used by the rich and powerful as and when they pleased. Two thousand years of Christian sexual morality had resulted in men as well as women widely taking this for granted. Had it not, then #MeToo would have had no force.

The reader will find insights into the Christian origins of our calendar, the notion of human rights (“that all men had been created equal, and endowed with an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, were not remotely self-evident truths”), the roots of the responses to devastating natural catastrophes, the current immigration debates and many other contemporary events thoughtful and challenging.

It’s important to note a short summary of Holland’s own spiritual and intellectual journey to place his account in perspective. While his father was an atheist, his mother was a devout Anglican who taught him the Bible from his earliest years. While becoming skeptical prior to college, before completing his Ph.D. at Oxford University he had become an unbeliever. However, as he studied and wrote histories on ancient civilizations he found,

[t]hat my belief in God had faded over the course of my teenage years did not mean that I had ceased to be Christian. For a millennium and more, the civilization into which I had been born was Christendom. Assumptions that I had grown up with—about how a society should properly be organised, and the principles that it should uphold—were not bred of classical antiquity, still less of ‘human nature’, but very distinctively of that civilisation’s Christian past.

So while he now considers himself “thoroughly and proudly Christian,” it appears to me that this is more to identify culturally as a Christian, understanding, accepting and consciously participating, even rejoicing in the benefits of a world made new rather than making a statement of faith in the Resurrection and Lordship of Christ. If I am right about that, and it’s very possible my assessment is incorrect, it would explain two significant issues that will stand out for evangelical and Pentecostal readers.

First, while Mr. Holland accurately and fairly turns to the Apostle Paul’s writings, granting them the force they indeed have of upending the world’s power structures, including, if not especially, in the realm of sexual behavior. But I think it fair to say he understands Paul not as writing under the infallible inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but rather a man of his own time with prejudices and perhaps apprehensions of fully pursuing the ramifications of his own teaching. He highlights Paul’s writings on the status and equality of women and the idea that slavery should be abolished, but rather than wrestle as the Church has always done with difficult passages that seem counter to these, seems too quick to dismiss Paul as simply being unable to fathom where his teaching would lead and perhaps being at war with himself in some of his letters. Mr. Holland is not a theologian, and I know he is reflecting a large segment of modern theological positions when he frames Paul in the way he does. However it is important for Christians to keep in sight the Apostle Peter’s Spirit-led admonition to those who fail to appreciate the source and authority of Paul’s writings.

“Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.”

To add one more important thought to this particular concern, Holland seems to indicate, though never directly state, that homosexuality—indeed, the entire sexually deviant smorgasbord of “LBGQT” falls within the parameters of acceptable Christian behavior, and at some point will be understood as compatible and in perfect harmony with the Christian message of “Love and do as you will.” This despite Mr. Holland’s powerful argument that Paul was unafraid to confront the overwhelming acceptance of virtually every sexual perversion of his day, including the gruesome transgenderism that was on open display in Galatia.

The Apostle’s condemnation of sex outside of marriage and his insistence that it must be between a consenting man and woman was to play the fool, as Mr. Holland so clearly and admiringly shows. The Cross of Christ demanded that a man love his wife the way Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. The cross made service, sacrifice and love the centerpiece of sexual relationships, and its demands were anathema to the world powers in Paul’s day. “Sex was nothing if not an exercise in power. As captured cities were to the swords of the legions, so the bodies of those used sexually were to the Roman man. To be penetrated, male or female, was to be branded as inferior: to be marked as womanish, barbarian, servile.”

Paul’s direct teaching on sexuality, which included condemnation of homosexuality, transgenderism and even those who were effeminate, completely changed how the entire world viewed sex and was transformed for good, as the #MeToo movement actually demonstrated. It was, as Mr. Holland again correctly notes, deeply rooted in Old Testament scripture. But this was also the New Testament ethic as Jesus’ confirmation of God’s creation purposes concerning marriage highlights and “natural law” affirmed, and Paul, writing under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, establishes the sexual standards in the New Testament. As pre-Christian assumptions concerning sexuality have taken an elevated place in our current culture it is important to ground this in Biblical truth, not popular trends.

A second area readers will want to keep in mind is throughout the book there is the implication that Christian teaching historically created an unbridgeable chasm between God’s law in the Old Testament and Christ’s (and Paul’s) New Testament gospel. While a popular axiom throughout academia today, in reality, our law system, especially that of Christendom, is built solidly on a strong understanding of the Old Testament law as interpreted now in Christ. As highly regarded legal scholar Harold J. Berman points out in his book “Law and Revolution: The Formation of the Western Legal Tradition,” while the Judaic law wasn’t considered binding or necessary for salvation, “the Biblical law (though not the rabbinic law) was binding in another sense, that is, as a revelation of the moral standards that God had set from man. ‘The Law is sacred,’ St. Paul wrote to the Church at Rome, ‘and what it command is sacred, just and good’ (Rom 7:12). This meant that Christian should internalize the Biblical law, should believe in their hearts the truths it embodied, and should do good out of faith and hope and love rather than because of legal command or sanctions.”

Ironically, Anselm’s theology on Atonement, which was conceived and developed between 1050 and 1150 AD, placed the cross and Christ’s death as a significant act separate from the resurrection for the first time—the very model of ‘cross as symbol’ that Mr. Holland sees transforming the world—led to the development of an entire legal system, or as Berman put it, “Anselm’s theology is a theology of law.” Anselm’s theory of Atonement dealt with all manner of legal principles surrounding justice, mercy, merit, restitution and much more, while the Eastern church never developed these theories which it “considered legalistic.”

Old Testament Biblical law would go on to form the basis for what we now call tort law. Unfortunately, the full impact of how “church law set an example for city law and for commercial law” would take an entire book to unpack, and my mentioning this is more about pointing out how important re-learning this history is as opposed to disagreeing with Mr. Holland and neither one of my quibbles take away from the sagacity of the book. “Dominion” is a majestic work that is unique in its focus and scope even as it builds upon the work of earlier scholars and historians and I am thankful he applied his great talent to the growth and power of the kingdom of God.

The victory of Christ and the spread of the Christian faith has been the subject of many excellent histories. Christopher Dawson6 made monumental contributions in this area, while Rodney Stark7 and many others, including, or perhaps, even, Daniel Boorstin,8 have written well-documented and powerful accounts of the Christian faith’s historical growth, influence and accomplishments.

Will Durant includes entire volumes on the unstoppable march of Christ’s kingdom in his Story of Civilization series, beginning with volume three, Caesar and Christ. Near the end of the volume, Durant concludes that

There is no greater drama in human record than the sight of a few Christians, scorned or oppressed by a succession of emperors, bearing all trials with a fierce tenacity, multiplying quietly, building order while their enemies generated chaos, fighting the sword with the word, brutality with hope, and at last defeating the strongest star that history has known. Caesar and Christ had met in the arena, and Christ had won.

However in terms of historical scope and focus on one particular aspect of the faith, that of the crucifixion of Jesus and the Cross’s role in its victorious transformational power over every area of life, Tom Holland’s book, “Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World” is perhaps the most important work that has been written in years. Not only should every Christian pastor and theologian read the book, but with a vast majority of believers lacking in or misinformed of our amazing history that church leaders should get this into the hands of every member. It may have been imperceptible, but Christ, through His work on the Cross, has taken dominion of the entire world. In the words of Issac Watts (1719):

Joy to the World; the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King!
Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields & floods, rocks, hills & plains
Repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love.

1 Galatians 6:14
2 Matthew 28:18-19
3 Colossians 2:10
4 Kitty Furguson, Measuring the Universe: Chapter 3, page 95.
5 Micah 4:2
6 While long neglected by Protestants, Christopher Dawson is one of the most important and best writers on the subject of Christ and His powerful movement upon the nations. His Christian worldview and powerful historical accounts should be read by all Christians.
7 The Rise of Christianity. The Victory of Reason. Cities of God.
8 Chapters in both The Creators and The Discoverers.

]]> Remember and Move Forward https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/remember-and-move-forward/ Thu, 30 Jan 2020 13:13:14 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=2963

The writer of the book of Hebrews describes the Christian life as a race (Heb. 12:1). It is that, and as the context indicates there are things that can weigh the runner down. In addition, the runners are opposed. Stated plainly believers are in a spiritual war. This truth is brought out by the apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Ephesus (Eph. 6:10-18). If a person is doing well in either a race, or a battle, they are moving forward, they are advancing.

At times in the course of our Christian journeys we may get stuck. What I mean is that, for whatever reason, we do not advance or mature as we should. During these times we may need a little help, a bit of encouragement in order to get us moving again. This encouragement can come in the form of reminders given to us by other people, or it can come from recalling parts of our own spiritual journeys. All of us at some time have probably needed a bit of prodding to get us back on the proper path in our spiritual life. Reminders can help us move forward. Usually someone has to remind the person in need of a truth that will help them. In the remainder of this article I would like to take a brief look at three biblical texts in which reminders are set forth as correctives for believers in need. Two of the texts were written by the apostle Paul and one was written by the author of the book of Hebrews.

The first one we will consider comes from the apostle Paul. In 1 Corinthians 4:15 Paul identified himself as the spiritual father of the believers in Corinth. This was true in that he founded the church there (Acts 18). The words he wrote in 1 Corinthians 4 were written to the whole church. In view of the fact that Paul brought the gospel to them he believed he should serve as an example of how one should live as a Christian. In the very next verse, 1 Corinthians 4:16, he told the Corinthians to imitate him. In order to help with this, Paul said that he was going to send Timothy to remind them of how he lived. Paul initiated this action because he determined that they needed it. However, he enlisted the help of Timothy to remind the Corinthians of these principles. In this passage Paul was not being an egomaniac or displaying a superior attitude, he was genuinely concerned about the spiritual welfare of the believers in Corinth. His desire was to help them.

We might wonder why Paul did not just send them a list of things to work on instead of sending Timothy to them. I think there are a couple of possible reasons for this. First, with Timothy going to Corinth he could report back to Paul that the necessary reminders had been communicated to the believers there. If Paul just sent a list he would not know if they paid any attention to it until the next time he visited. Second, if there were questions about anything Timothy said, it would be easier for Timothy to answer their questions in person than for the church to keep writing to Paul for clarifications. The apostle John also recognized the value of personal contact, it is, at times, to be preferred over written correspondence (2 John 12; 3 John 13-14).

The second text I would like us to look at comes from the book of Hebrews. No one knows for sure who wrote this book because the author does not identify themself in the text. In the letter it is clear that the author was writing to urge the believers on in their walk with the Lord. Near the end of the letter the writer refers to it as a “word of exhortation” (Heb. 13:22 NIV). One of the things the writer did to try to move them on toward spiritual progress was to urge them to remember their “earlier days” (Heb. 10:32 NIV) in the faith. By recalling how they conducted themselves in the early days, even in the midst of adversity, it could help them to return to the zeal and perseverance that they had at the beginning of their Christian lives. They had these qualities in the past and they could have them again. Remembering our earlier Christian life can be helpful to us as well. The past can be a good teacher. In Revelation 2 Jesus urged the church in Ephesus to remember how they had lived so that they could get back to their first love (Rev. 2:4-5). In the Christian life there can be a tendency to drift away from the commitment and zeal we once had. Remembering our earlier Christian life can serve as a corrective when this happens.

The third text I would like to mention was also written by the apostle Paul. The verse we will be considering was written to an individual, a minister, one whom Paul knew very well, his name was Timothy. In 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul urged Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God” (NIV) that was in him. He knew that Timothy had this gift, because Timothy received it when Paul laid his hands on him. The great apostle urged him to use what he already had. At times we need trusted people in our lives who will remind us to “be all we can be,” to use all of the power that the Lord has given us, to function in the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit. In short, these people urge us to be good stewards of the gifts that God has given to us. This reminder would certainly benefit Timothy in that he would operate at a higher level of effectiveness (which would, no doubt, be more satisfying to him). It would also benefit those he ministered to. God’s purposes would be more fully served.

This brief study has shown us a number of things. The biblical texts demonstrate that reminders can be given to individuals or to a whole congregation. They also show us that reminders can be given in order to spur believers on to more mature Christian living or more powerful ministry. Both of these are good things. Sometimes we, as believers, need to be reminded of the past in order to move forward in the present. The Scriptures we have looked at, and others, can help move us forward. However, reminders are not confined to Scripture. In addition to Scripture, God sometimes sends messengers to us for this purpose. If you have trusted people in your life who offer spiritual reminders to you, do not dismiss them or treat them with contempt. Be thankful for them. God may use them to inspire you to greater maturity and growth. This benefits everyone and serves God’s purposes.

About the Author

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> Rejection https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/rejection/ https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/rejection/#comments Wed, 15 Jan 2020 17:30:13 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=2952

If you are going to be involved in Christian ministry you are going to experience rejection. This is a given, it is a normal part of the Christian experience. Though we may do all we can to minimize it, if we are faithful to the scriptures, we will not be able to avoid it completely. In some places in the world, places like China and North Korea, Christians pay a very high price for engaging in Christian ministry. A price that goes way beyond mere rejection.

In the United States hostility toward those who engage in Christian ministry is generally significantly less than in those places, but it exists nonetheless. All of you who are pastors already know about rejection. If we faithfully follow the Lord in obedience we will, at some points, experience it. This rejection can come from two places: the world and the church. We expect it from the world, but probably do not think of the church as a major source of it. However, Scripture and experience both demonstrate that one may encounter rejection from either (or both) of them.

When Jesus sent His disciples out on their first ministry trip (Matthew 10) He indicated that not everyone would accept their ministry. He told His disciples what to do when people would not welcome them or listen to them (Matt. 10:14). The message that they had been given would be offensive to some; their message was the kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 10:7), and the King of that Kingdom, of course, was Jesus. A little further down in the chapter Jesus told His disciples that people would hate them because of Him (Matt. 10:22).

This rejection was not a one-time thing—there are other accounts of them being rejected. This was true both for the original apostles (Acts 4:3; 5:18) as well as Christian ministers who emerged later (Acts 6:8-12; 7:54-59; 9:23-25). The same holds true today, there are many people in the world who reject Jesus, and in the process reject His messengers. In our pluralistic culture many do not like the Christian teaching that Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Neither do they want His authority over them, they do not want His Lordship. Many people also do not like the stringent teachings of Scripture, as these run contrary to the natural sinful nature of humanity. These teachings identify as sin, not only acts or behaviors, but also internal heart conditions (Matt. 5:21-30). As Christian ministers we can expect a degree of rejection from those who do not accept the gospel message.

On one occasion I was speaking with a man who asked me what a Pentecostal was. Rather than launching into a discussion about our distinctive doctrine I decided to use this opening to present the gospel message. The church I pastored was located in a community that had a large Jewish population, so I said something like this “A Pentecostal is a person who believes that Jesus is the Messiah.” I will never forget this man’s response, he said “No way.” We did not have a very long conversation or any real conflict but I was amazed at how blunt he was. On another occasion I was asked to speak at a funeral home. Some Christian members of the family wanted a gospel presentation to be given there. I did not know the family but agreed to do as they requested. When I spoke there my message was interrupted with a question or two (which was fine). As I was leaving I noticed a man who looked at me with contempt. Though he spoke in a foreign language I believe he made a negative comment about me. I am sure that almost every pastor has stories similar to these. They go with the territory. Not everyone will accept the gospel.

One of the unhappy truths of Christian ministry is that leaders can also encounter opposition from those inside the church. This is disappointing, but should not be a total surprise to us, this also took place in the first century church. There are texts in the New Testament in which believers were told to respect and obey their leaders (1 Thess. 5:12-13; Heb. 13:17). These directives would probably not be in Scripture unless there was a need for them. That is, if people were respecting their leaders the inspired writers would not have included these directives in their letters.

We know from other biblical texts that Christian leaders did, in fact, experience rejection from other believers. The church in Corinth rejected Paul’s leadership (2 Cor. 10) and Diotrephes rejected the apostle John’s leadership (3 John 9). These rejections were not for valid reasons, some Christians were resisting the truth. As Paul wrote “Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (Gal. 4:16 NIV). Similar situations take place today. When they do it is not only disappointing, it can also be stressful and draining. Conflict is rarely a positive dynamic.

While most people in a local church will agree with the major points of doctrine, which are usually spelled out in the articles of faith of the church, they may not agree on things that are not spelled out there. For example, a pastor might receive some static if he or she uses a Bible translation that is different from the one the church has used for years. Or he or she may hear complaints about the kind of music that is used in the service. These kinds of conflicts are not restricted to pastors. Anyone who is involved in Christian leadership or ministry can expect conflict to emerge from time to time. Sometimes it is due to misunderstandings, at other times it is due to strong differences of opinion. In many cases it is more about the issue than the messenger. And there are, of course, also other reasons why conflicts may take place. When these situations do arise they can leave the leader feeling rejected.

Rejection is a part of the ministry. Though it is painful, leaders must be able to get beyond it. In some cases this may take a bit of time. Leaders who hold to the truth will in time encounter people who will resist it. This is certainly true with regard to unbelievers. Some will be very nice in their rejection of the gospel message while others will be more hostile. The apostle Paul spoke about unbelievers who “refused to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thess. 2:10 NIV). These are people who exercised their free will to their own harm. They rejected the only way to salvation (John 14:6).

Leaders may also from time to time encounter an obstinate church member who resists or rejects the truth. In the midst of such painful circumstances it is helpful to remember that the approval of human beings is not to be our primary focus. Pleasing the Lord is to be our top priority (Acts 5:29). If we truly love Him (Matt. 22:37-38), and seek to be faithful to Him, He will see us through.

About the Author

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including: the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/rejection/feed/ 1 Invisible Churches https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/invisible-churches/ Mon, 30 Dec 2019 20:20:06 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=2944

In the New Testament there were some “invisible churches.” What? How is that possible? We all know that the church is made up of people and people have bodies, they are not spirits. Jesus stated this truth in Luke 24:39. Since this is so, surely no church can be literally invisible. So I must mean something else, right? Maybe I mean that they were underground. That is, like some churches in China and in other places in the world, they met in secret so as not to call attention to themselves. Some churches in today’s world do that so they will not be discovered by the government. The early disciples of Jesus did on one occasion seek to “hide” themselves from their fellow Jews (John 20:19). However, I cannot think of any text which explicitly says that this was a regular practice of the New Testament church.

If you thought that by invisible I meant the churches were underground that would be a reasonable guess, but that is not what I am referring to. Perhaps I mean that they would be more difficult to find than churches in America today because there were no church buildings. The early Christians met where they could, in the temple courts and houses (Acts 5:42). In fact there are multiple references to churches meeting in houses (1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Phlm. 2).

However, what I mean by invisible is that there were some churches that existed but that is about all we know about them. They are mentioned in Scripture but we know little to nothing about them. Churches that fall into this category include “the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria” (Acts 9:31 NIV) and the church in Hierapolis (Col. 4:13).

The first seven chapters of Acts are taken up with accounts about the church in Jerusalem. In Acts 8 we learn that Philip went to Samaria (Acts 8:5). He had a very successful ministry there; people were saved, healed, and delivered (Acts 8:6-8, 12). I think it is safe to say that this became a church, a gathering of believers. The Lord really blessed the work there. This should not be a surprise to us because Jesus specifically mentioned that He wanted the area evangelized (Acts 1:8). In Acts 8 we also learn that the apostles Peter and John also ministered to the people that Philip evangelized.

In addition, these two apostles ministered to people in other Samaritan villages as well (Acts 8:25). Though Scripture does not explicitly say so I would guess there were some who believed as a result of their ministry in those cities. Perhaps this is where the other Samaritan churches came from. However, we have no detailed information about any Samaritan churches (except for Philip’s, and that work is never actually called a church). We also do not have information about the churches located in the other areas mentioned in Acts 9:31. And this is not the only case.

In Colossians 4:13 Paul mentions a group of believers in Hierapolis. He does not say much about them, he makes just a passing reference to them. What he does say is that Epaphras was working hard for them. This is very meager information, nothing else is said about them. This church barely shows up in the New Testament record. Paul knew about the group there and the believers in Colossae knew (at least after they received the letter). The believers in Hierapolis have a very low profile in Scripture.

Does this lack of information mean that these churches were not important? Not at all. I am sure they were very important to those who attended them. In these churches people could worship God and be instructed, encouraged, and prayed for. They could be ministered to in a number of ways. Probably the only significant difference between these congregations and the churches in Jerusalem and Ephesus is that they did not have much written about them in the sacred text. But the lack of attention given to these churches in no way minimizes their value, either in the eyes of the Lord or of people. For whatever reason, the Lord chose not to direct the inspired writers to include a lot of information about these churches.

If the truth be told there are a lot of “invisible churches” in the world today; some are very small and others are quite large. Most of us probably attend one. What I mean is that a lot of people barely take note of us. People can find our buildings, the names of our churches, and their addresses and phone numbers, they are available for the world to see but we are not given much attention. We expect that from unbelievers, who frequently have no interest in spiritual things. But many of our churches are not even known by other Christians. I expect that this is quite common today because there are many more churches in the world now than there were during the first century. Most churches do not have TV programs nor are they written up in major Christian publications. They don’t attract a lot of attention. People may know our churches exist but they don’t know much more. We may be faithfully serving the Lord’s purposes and meeting needs in the world and in the church but there is seemingly no account kept of it, there is no fanfare or recognition.

Being “invisible” is not necessarily bad (as long as we are doing our Father’s business), in fact, it may help keep us from pride. But remember there is one who sees and He rewards us according to our works. If we serve with little or no recognition or acclaim that is okay, but let us serve faithfully, for that is what our Lord desires.


John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including: the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> When Being Less Than Number One is Good Enough https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/when-being-less-than-number-one-is-good-enough/ Thu, 14 Nov 2019 13:27:59 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=2930

There is a lot of pressure in our world to be first, to be number one. Some people will attain it, but the number of those who do will be very few. There can only be one number one in any given group! Some will occupy first place in their family, this may be based on their age, wealth, or accomplishments. Others will be first in their place of employment. For example, a man or woman might be the top salesperson for their company. Holding the highest place has its benefits. Not only is there personal recognition, but there is also, in many cases power. We see evidence of this in Scripture. Both pagan and Israelite kings who ruled over their respective lands had a title and power. They could use it for good or evil, they were in a position to make a difference in their land. However, one need not be the top person in order to make a difference. I am not suggesting that we do not try to be our best or strive for excellence, what I am saying is that sometimes being number two is good enough. We also see examples of this in Scripture. In the remainder of this article we will look at two people who only made it to number two, but it was enough for them to make a huge impact in the lives of many people. The two that we will considering are both found in the Old Testament; we will be looking at the lives of Joseph and Mordecai.

Joseph

In the book of Genesis we meet a person named Joseph, he came from a large family, he had many brothers. He also had some divinely given dreams which caused him trouble when he shared them with his family. His brothers were so furious with him that they sold him (Gen. 37:28). Those who purchased him from his brothers brought him to Egypt and then they sold him (Gen. 37:36). While he was in Egypt Joseph found favor with Potiphar who put him in charge of his household (Gen. 39:4). Because Joseph was strong and attractive he caught the eye of Potiphar’s wife (Gen. 39:6b-7). She made sexual advances toward him (Gen. 39:7, 12). Out of reverence for God and his boss, he resisted her, even though her advances went on for a number of days (Gen. 39:10). Because he resisted her she lied about him (Gen. 39:14-18). She told her husband, Potiphar, that Joseph had made advances toward her (Gen. 39:17-18). This landed Joseph in prison (Gen. 39:20). While he was there he rose to a place of prominence. He also successfully interpreted the dreams of two of his fellow prisoners, the butcher and the baker (Gen 40:8-22). In time he was called upon to interpret the dreams Pharaoh (Gen 41:14-15).

Joseph was also successful in interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh. Because of this Pharaoh promoted him and placed him in charge of all the land of Egypt (Gen.41:41). He gave him the position of number two in the land (Gen. 41:43). In this position he was able to save many people, including his own family, from the ravages of an ongoing famine (Gen. 45:5-6). He was not the number one person in the country but he was able to make a difference, even though he was number two, and a foreigner. This unlikely leader used his influence for good. Joseph himself was able to see that he was used to help save the lives of many people (Gen. 50:20).

Mordecai

The second biblical character whose life we will consider is Mordecai. He was a relative of Hadassah, whom we know better as Esther; he raised her, because her parents were not in her life (Esth. 2:7). While Mordecai was in Susa he heard about a plan to assassinate the king. This plan was devised by two officers of the king (Esth. 2:21-22). He told Esther about it and she told the king, but she gave credit to Mordecai for uncovering the plan (Esth. 2:22).

Mordecai was not rewarded for his loyalty at the time when he exposed the plan, he was not honored until later (Esth. 6:1-11). He also served as an “informant” regarding Haman’s plan to destroy the Jews. When Mordecai became aware of it (Esth. 4:1) he sent word to Esther and urged her to speak up for her people (Esth. 4:8). She did, and as a result the threat to Jews was addressed. Again, as a result of Mordecai’s actions, life was saved. And like Joseph, he was promoted to a place of prominence; he was second in the land (Esth. 10:3).

Joseph and Mordecai had some similarities and some differences. Their similarities include both being Jewish men and both doing right. They lived in different places and at different times but both were instrumental in saving the lives of others. Joseph saved people from the natural disaster of the famine, and Mordecai saved people from the evil plans of sinful human beings. He saved the life of the king and helped save the lives of the Jewish people. These two men also had something else in common. They both maintained their integrity. They behaved as they did because they honored God above all. It is worth noting that neither of these men sought the high positions that they eventually received. In fact, both were very unlikely candidates to receive these positions. Neither of them became number one. However, from where they were they made a big difference. We don’t have to be number one in order to make a difference in the lives of people. In fact, we do not even need to be number two. Whatever our position in life is we just need to use the influence and position we have to serve the best interests of others. If God is number one in our lives, and we are submitted to Him, our earthly position is not really all that important.

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including: the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> Greatness https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/greatness/ Fri, 11 Oct 2019 13:37:18 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=2917
Tintoretto – Birth of St John Baptist 1563

In Luke 1:15 we find these words, “he will be great in the sight of the Lord” (NIV). The angel Gabriel (Luke 1:19) said this to Zechariah as he delivered God’s message to him (Luke 1:11-20). Zechariah was a priest (Luke 1:5) and this message was given to him while he was inside the temple (Luke 1:8-9). This is the only record of this encounter in Scripture. The statement the angel made to him was predictive, it spoke about the future. The word “will” tells us that the message was yet to be fulfilled, the person the verse speaks about had not yet arrived at greatness. In fact, this individual had not yet been born! The word “he” lets us know that the person Gabriel spoke about would be a male. Those who are familiar with the opening chapter of Luke’s gospel know that the person being referred to by the angel is John the Baptist.

I have chosen to write about John because I would like to address the subject of greatness. Human beings recognize greatness, admire greatness, and in some cases strive for greatness. But as many have found, greatness can be quite elusive. It requires time, effort, and dedication. Different scales are used to determine greatness. The greatness of an athlete may be seen by comparing his or her accomplishments with the objectives of the sport that they are participating in. Or, it can be recognized by comparing their skills with those of others who play the same sport. The greatness of a businessman might be measured by the wealth he has accumulated or the power or influence he exerts in the market. These examples show that there are different spheres in life and different measurements of greatness. If the truth be told, greatness is in some sense in the eye of the beholder. For example, if I do not follow baseball I will not be impressed with the skills of a person who plays the game. In the same way, if I am not interested in business I will be less likely to recognize a great business man.

Readjusting our focus regarding the subject of greatness, I dare say that most people would like to be seen as great to someone or some group of people. This is true with regard to families, businesses, sports, and even the church. We want to be valued, we want to be great, we want to impress someone. Once we determine in whose eyes we want to be great we may be setting ourselves up to be offensive to others (we will not, and cannot, please everyone). So this brings us to a question, in whose eyes do we, as Christians, want to be great? We may not typically think of our lives in these terms but it is a good question. If you are an evangelist you may want to be seen as great by the crowd that you preach to. If you are a pastor you may want to be seen as great by your congregation or church board. These desires are understandable, but if this is the case, our sights are too low. The statement made about John the Baptist is significant, it said he would be great in God’s sight. That is what we should aspire to as well.

You may be interested in Pastor Kelvin Page’s 15-session series on Coaching Leaders Through Nehemiah.

You would think greatness would be synonymous with being successful. I think they are connected, but not everyone is going to recognize the connection because people look at different indicators of greatness. This will be true in our lives and I suspect it was true in the life of John the Baptist. Though he was great in God’s sight he was probably not great in everyone’s eyes.

Some people measure greatness in terms of wealth, by that I mean money and possessions. It is doubtful that John had them. His clothing and food do not sound very impressive. He “wore clothing made of camel’s hair” and “ate locusts and wild honey” (Mark 1:6 NIV). These do not exactly classify as designer clothes or exquisite cuisine. We never hear anything about him living in a house.

John’s ministry was successful in that many people were baptized by him (Mark 1:5), but it did not look impressive from the outside. He was born into a priestly family (Luke 1:5) but he did not function in a priestly capacity. He did not wear the priestly robes and he did not minister in the temple. Instead, he ministered outside of Jerusalem near water so that he could baptize. He functioned in a prophetic capacity.

Jewish history shows us that true prophets of God were not always well received. John’s message, like those of many Old Testament prophets, was not one that people would like. He preached a message of repentance (Matt. 3:2; Mark 1:4). When you tell people they are not living right and that they need to change you will probably not make many friends. The people respected John as a prophet (Matt. 14:5) but I am sure he encountered his share of opponents, particularly when he called his hearers “vipers” (Luke 3:7 NIV). He may have been accused of being harsh or judgmental (he would by some people in our day). No doubt he was resisted and resented for this part of his message. He also spoke of one coming after him, Jesus (Mark 1:7-8).

John also did not have any miracles that attended his ministry (John 10:41). He was strong and faithful in the message he had been given to preach but there were no “signs following” (Mark 16:20 KJV) his ministry. The miraculous could be seen in Moses’ ministry (Exod. Chapters 7-11), Elijah had evidence of supernatural working (1 Kgs. Chapters 17 & 18; Jas. 5:17-18), and so did Elisha (2 Kgs. Chapters 4 & 6). But John had no such signs. In our day there are some who would have stopped following him for this very reason. In their eyes he would not be great.

The ministry of John was also not very long. We know he was ministering before he baptized Jesus. We also know that his life was cut short, he was executed before Jesus’ death. John was beheaded when he was in prison (Matt. 14:9-10). In addition to the short duration of his ministry there was a time when fewer people came to him, the numbers began to fall off. John was told that everybody was now going to Jesus (John 3:26). This would not look like a great ministry to some people but he was faithful to the Lord and the task he had been given. Thus, he was great in the Lord’s eyes.

Whose eyes will we be great in? Whose eyes do we want to be great in? Hopefully the Lord will be at the top of our list. We must always keep Him in view. There are many things in life, even in the ministry, that seek our attention and affection. However, they should not be allowed to usurp the place that rightly belongs to God. He is the one who called us and commissioned us. He is also the one that we will ultimately have to answer to. May we seek to love and please the Lord all the days of our lives. If we do, we will be great in His eyes, and that is true greatness.

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including: the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> Transforming the Church https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/transforming-the-church/ Mon, 07 Oct 2019 13:43:11 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=2910

Every church is a work in progress. Each congregation has some commendable qualities as well as some that need work. Those of you who are pastors can identify the strengths and weaknesses of your particular church. As a leader you want to press on, you want to bring your congregation more in line with the positive traits you find in the churches in the New Testament. You also want to bring the lives of those who sit under your ministry into obedience to the clear teachings of the biblical text. According to Ephesians 4:13 part of the task that has been entrusted to you is to bring your congregation to unity and maturity. But how do you do that? What are some of the practical steps you can take in pursuit of these goals?

There are, of course, no quick or easy answers to these questions. A lot of variables are involved, things like the history of the church you serve, the receptivity of the people to the Scriptures, etc. Nonetheless I believe there are some key biblical principles which can go a long way in moving a church toward a more complete biblical Christian experience. This becomes possible as each member of the congregation is changed a bit at a time. The changes that each member needs may be different, but the truths mentioned below have the potential to make a huge impact on a number of different needs. In the remainder of this article we will briefly consider three things that can impact the individual Christian, and as a result, help transform the church as a whole. 

Exposition of Scripture

The importance of the Word of God is clear; the Scriptures are the revelation of God to us. Their significance in the life of the church can be seen from a number of biblical texts. In 1 Timothy 4 the apostle Paul urged Timothy to publicly read, preach, and teach the Scriptures (1 Tim. 4:13). At the time, Timothy was in the church in Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3). This church was troubled by false teachers and false teaching and was in need of change. In his second letter to Timothy Paul told him to “Preach the Word” (2 Tim. 4:2 NIV). Truth exposes error. The exposition of Scripture is to be one of the priorities when the people of God gather together. It is a tremendous responsibility. Paul told Titus his teaching was to be marked by “integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned” (Titus 2:7-8 NIV). He told Timothy to apply himself to correctly handling the Scriptures (2 Tim. 2:15). These directives apply to those of us who preach and teach in the contemporary church. Instructing people in the Word is so serious that James tells us not many people should become teachers because of the great responsibility that is attached to the task (Jas. 3:1-2). Peoples’ lives are impacted by what they hear. Sound exposition of Scripture can keep people from error, or lead them out of it. 

You may want to view the four-session series on
The Doctrine of the Church by Dr. Terry Cross

However, the exposition of Scripture is not just to refute error, as important as that is. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul tells us that the Word of God works in believers. This is true. The Word convicts us, comforts us, and changes us; it can keep us from sin (Ps. 119:11). Pastors do a great service to their congregations when they deliver a strong Scriptural message, one that is exegetically solid and has some substance to it. The Bible speaks of the milk of the Word and the meat of the Word (Heb. 5:12-14). Pastors should be laboring toward bringing everyone under their care toward the meat level. Following the example of the Levites in Nehemiah’s day can be helpful in this regard. The biblical text tells us they made the meaning of the Scriptures clear to their hearers (Neh. 8:8). This labor should be conducted with “great patience and careful instruction” (2 Tim. 4:2 NIV). If people are exposed to the Word of God changes will come, because God will speak to His people from His Word long after the sermon is done.

Encounter with the Holy Spirit 

The Scriptures can do much to help transform a church. They move us toward holy ways, work, and witness, they are relevant to all Christians. As believers we need our minds renewed and the Scriptures will help us do that (Rom. 12:2). But there are other things which also contribute to the transforming of a church. Another very important change agent is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. If the members of a church have an encounter, an experience, with the Holy Spirit it will do much to revolutionize the church. We cannot control the Holy Spirit. However, pastors need to be personally sensitive to the Spirit and help the people under their care to experience Him. This, in part, involves giving clear Scriptural teaching about the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

But it involves more than that. In addition to Scriptural teaching pastors should make room for the Holy Spirit to work in the gathered assembly. Worship is one place where this can be done. It is a Scriptural principle that when we draw near to God He draws near to us (Jas. 4:8). Having a good time of worship in the service is an invitation for the Lord to draw near and move. Pastors may also create space for the Spirit to move by not rushing the altar call or ministry time so that the Spirit can deal with peoples’ hearts. In addition, pastors can allow time for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to operate in the service. This may mean having a time of silence. I know this can be a challenge because some people become impatient (or uncomfortable) and others may not understand. But if you have ever witnessed the Spirit work in an individual or group of people you know it can truly be powerful. It is worth the price. And isn’t that ultimately what we want? We want God to move in our midst. Our service is not just to commemorate His great acts in history but to experience Him our lives. 

I am sure most who are reading this article are Pentecostals therefore what I wrote in the previous paragraph may seem very elementary; I may seem to be preaching to the choir. However, when I was pastoring I was at one time very Word centered and did not give much emphasis to the Spirit. The Lord brought some people into the church who helped bring us more into balance; they moved us forward in the things of the Spirit.

As Christians we need to live in the reality that we are “the church of the Living God” (1 Tim. 3:15 NIV). The Lord should be allow to speak and move in the church as He sees fit. The Spirit’s work is the will of God. Every church has some type of structure or order of service. That is fine, but it should be flexible enough so that it can be adjusted or adapted to what God wants to do during any given service. As the church of Jesus Christ may we not grieve (Eph. 4:30) or quench (1 Thess. 5:19) God’s Spirit. Instead, let us fully cooperate with Him. The people of God need an encounter with God. If they have it, it will contribute to transforming the church.

Example of Church Leaders

In 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 the apostle Paul provides lists of ministry qualifications for pastors/elders. These lists include behaviors that should mark the life of the spiritual leader and those that should not. These qualities are the ones God is looking for in those who serve in leadership in the church. They should also be the ones the church is looking for in its spiritual leaders. One of the main reasons for seeking people who exemplify these qualities is because they are to be examples. They are to show the members of the church what a committed Christian life looks like.

Example can be a powerful teacher. In 1 Thessalonians 1:5 Paul wrote about how he and his coworkers conducted themselves when they were in Thessalonica. He goes on to say that the believers in Thessalonica became imitators of them (1 Thess. 1:6). The Thessalonian Christians then “became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (1 Thess. 1:7 NIV). So the pattern continues. On more than one occasion Paul held himself out as an example for people to follow (1 Cor. 4:16, 11:1; Phil. 3:17, 4:9). He was not a unique case. Paul urged others who served in church leadership to be examples. He instructed Timothy to be an example (1 Tim. 4:12). He gave similar counsel to Titus (Titus 2:7). The apostle Peter when writing to fellow elders exhorted them to be examples to the other members of the church (1 Pet. 5:1-3).

In the contemporary church too, ministers need to serve as examples. We will not walk as perfectly as Jesus did during His earthly ministry, but we should seek to follow His example as closely as possible. This is not just for our own benefit, it is for the benefit of others as well. Paul told Timothy to pay attention to his life and his doctrine, because if he preserved in them he would save himself and his hearers (1 Tim. 4:16). This holds true for us today as well.

Conclusion 

While we seek to bring our churches to unity and maturity (Eph. 4:13), let us follow the biblical truths that will move us toward these goals. The three I have mentioned above are good starting points. They can contribute much toward moving the church in the direction of the divine ideals. Diligence in these matters is important. If we sow, we will reap. In some cases results will occur more quickly than in others. The key thing is not to lose heart, but to remain faithful to the call that the Lord has place upon each of our lives. As Paul instructed the elders of the church of Ephesus, we too need to faithfully shepherd the church of God of which He has made us overseers (Acts 20:28). May God grant us grace to protect it and direct it toward transformation, so that it may be the church He desires it to be.

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including: the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

]]> Seeing The Bigger Picture https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/seeing-the-bigger-picture/ Wed, 25 Sep 2019 20:15:33 +0000 https://www.pentecostalpastor.com/?p=2889

All people encounter difficulties in life, this holds true for both believers and unbelievers. As believers we may at times find ourselves in difficulty because of our commitment to God; as we walk in obedience to Him it leads us into trouble. This should not surprise us, Jesus said that His followers would have trouble in this world (John 16:33). The apostle Paul wrote that all who want to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12). These verses, though addressed to people in the first century, have application to twenty-first century believers as well. When we seek to faithfully follow the Lord, or step out in ministry, we may personally suffer. This is not a popular scriptural theme, but it is truth.

When we encounter difficulties we can become very focused on them. This is true for at least two reasons, first because they are painful, and second, because they are happening to us! The experience has our attention. As a result our vision may become very restricted, we may lose sight of the bigger picture. We cannot see anything else that may be taking place because of what has happened to us.

In the Bible we find examples of people who could see beyond their immediate circumstances, they could see the bigger picture. Perhaps they saw it in retrospect, that is, “after the fact,” but at least they saw it. Some of us miss the bigger picture because we are too taken up with the circumstances of our own lives. In the remainder of this article we will look at two people in the Bible who were able to see the bigger picture. One example will come from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

Joseph

One Old Testament character who was able to see the bigger picture was Joseph, the son of Jacob. He was the favored son in the family (Gen. 37:4). When he was young he brought his father a bad report about his brothers (Gen. 37:2). Because of these things his brothers could not stand him, the NIV translation of Genesis 37:4 says “they hated him.” In addition he had two dreams that indicated he would become a prominent person (Gen. 42:5-11). When he told his family about these dreams they were not exactly thrilled.

The cumulative weight of all of these things turned the negative feelings of Joseph’s brothers toward him into action. They sold him to the Midianites (Gen. 37:28) who in turn took him to Egypt and there sold him to Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh (Gen.37:36). Joseph went from being the favored son to being a servant; that was quite a comedown. However, wherever Joseph went he proved to be a quality person. He earned the favor of his master, Potiphar (Gen. 39:4). Later, when Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of making sexual advances toward her he was put in prison (and it was not an overnight stay!). While he was in prison he found favor in the eyes of the warden of the prison (Gen. 39:21). The favor Joseph received was because God was with him (Gen. 39:2, 21).

However, while he was in prison he saw what he hoped would be an opportunity for him to get out. Joseph had accurately interpreted the dreams of two of his fellow prisoners (Gen.40:4-22). The one who survived, the chief cupbearer, was supposed to speak to Pharaoh about Joseph (Gen. 40:14), but he forgot to do it (Gen. 40:23). He did not remember until two years later (Gen. 41:1). The thing that jarred his memory was that Pharaoh had dreams he did not understand (Gen. 41:1-8). When the cupbearer mentioned to Pharaoh that Joseph had accurately interpreted his dream and the dream of the baker Joseph was called to appear before Pharaoh. Joseph, with the help of God, interpreted his dreams, and was immediately promoted to be second in charge of Egypt (Gen. 41:40-43).

After some time, due to the famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to get food (Gen. 42:1-3). They appeared before Joseph and bowed down before him, just as he had seen in his dreams (Gen. 37:5-9). When his brothers appeared before him they do not recognize him (Gen. 42:8). They appeared before him a number of times. Eventually, Joseph made himself known to his brothers (Gen. 45:3-4). After he did this he tried to comfort them (Gen. 45:5). He told them not to be angry with themselves for what they had done to him (Gen. 45:5). He assured them more than once that God had sent him to Egypt so save lives (Gen. 45:5, 7). He could see the bigger picture. Whether he realized it in that moment, or it had occurred to him prior to that time, we cannot say for sure. But this was the big issue.

After their father Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers feared their lives were in danger. They thought that Joseph would take revenge on them. In view of this they threw themselves down before him (Gen. 50: 18). But here too he affirmed that God was the one who sent him to Egypt. He said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Gen. 50:20 NIV).

Joseph was able to look beyond his own personal experience. He did not focus on the time he spent as a servant, his imprisonment, nor did he did seek revenge. He was able to do this, at least in part, because he saw the bigger picture; He saw what God had done in all that had transpired. His experiences, though difficult for him, benefited many others. God had used it all. We could say that it was easy for Joseph to be kind and gracious to his brothers because his circumstances had turned around, he was now in a place of comfort, position, and power. As the text of Genesis 45:5-9 makes clear Joseph was very God-centered. Like Joseph, we too, need to be very God-centered. If we are, we will more likely see the bigger picture and not just the challenging aspects of our own lives.

Paul

In the New Testament we also find an individual who could see the bigger picture. The apostle Paul spent most of his time traveling, preaching the gospel, and establishing churches. His goal was to finish what Jesus had given him to do (Acts 20:24). As he pursued this goal he was no stranger to trouble. If you read through Acts or 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 you will see he encountered a lot of difficulties. In most cases he was able to move on from the trouble. But then something happened. He was in Jerusalem and was falsely accused of a number of things including defiling the Temple. Some claimed he defiled the Temple by bringing a Gentile into it (Acts 21:28). This led to Paul appearing before a number of different “courts.” As a result of the pressures that were put on him, he appealed to Caesar (Acts 25:11-12) and was sent to Rome (Acts 27:1). Once in Rome he was held under house arrest (Acts 28:16).

Being in chains hindered his movements but not his ministry (see Acts 28:30-31). He spoke to all who came to him (Acts 28:30) but he could not go to others. This may have been a bit frustrating to him. But in spite of his less than ideal circumstances he could see some good that came from it. In addition to his own preaching (which was geographically limited) others were now speaking up for Christ (Phil. 1:14)! More people were actively talking about Jesus, there were multiple preachers on the scene. This also means that more people were hearing about Jesus. And, this came about because of Paul’s adverse circumstances. This was a good development, even though some of the preachers had less than pure motives (Phil. 1:15-17). But Paul rejoiced because Christ was being preached (Phil. 1:18)

At the time Paul observed this taking place his circumstances had not changed. Unlike Joseph who had risen to prominence Paul was still in custody. But he has a good perspective, he could see the bigger picture. It takes a special kind of awareness to see the positive in a negative situation. But, as Paul wrote in Romans 8:28, everything works together for good for those who love God. We need to look for the good that is happening in and around our personal circumstances, which may be less than ideal.

Jesus said that He and His Father are always working (John 5:17). Do we really believe that? Are we looking for the bigger picture? Are we looking beyond our own personal circumstances? Joseph did it and Paul did it so we know it can be done. It is a good quality to have, or if need be cultivate. Sometimes the bigger picture is easy to see, at other times it may take a bit of effort to discern. However, it is worth the effort. It helps us to know that some of the adversities (“setbacks”) we suffer are not in vain, it also helps us see some of the blessings of God that we might otherwise miss. May God help us to see the bigger picture!

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including: the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.

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