Monday Reflections...words (terms) matter

For the life of this one given the spiritual gift of pastoring to equip the saints especially in the area of pastoring/shepherding one another, sometimes I have early mornings when my sleep is done.  My mind is full and I just need to succumb to rising and starting my day.  This physical day greets me with an unseasonably warm morning after a glorious day with God's family assembled in Oglesby, Illinois.

Yesterday included the preaching of a sermon that was very important to me.   I left a denominational system that I was a part of for 28 years to serve in a non-denominational church for the last 4 1/2 years.  I went from church polity set for me from a common book of Discipline spread across all the churches of the denomination to a statement in the 125 year constitution of this church that reads,

"This church is independent, self-governing

and is not affiliated with any denominational group."

There is no one higher up that is going to figure this out for you.  You need to go to the Scriptures and see what God has said and pattern the local body in accordance to it to the best of your ability and with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.  The goal is...

"Our continuing effort to understand

and implement Biblical standards."

All of this lead to the sermon this Sunday on church polity or structure.  I have included below an audio of the sermon.  Feel free to listen to this 45 minute lecture packed with Scripture but let me give you some highlights from my notes that graced the pulpit yesterday morning at OUC.

• There is only one in Scripture that is formally called pastor/shepherd preceded by a definite article and that is Jesus, the great Shepherd who laid down His very life for His sheep.

• To pastor/shepherd is a verb describing what someone does and not a position or title they hold.

• There is a spiritual gift of pastoring, therefore seen in the noun form, but again, it describes what this person does (verb) for the beneficial equipping of the saints for our pastoring of one another.

• If needed, we call to a church someone with the spiritual gift of pastoring to join the ones given the responsibility of pastoring/shepherding God's flock, the elders/overseers of the local church.  This one called joins the group of elders/overseers who are appointed according to given Biblical standards of character.

• The terms "elder" and "overseer" are used interchangeability by the Apostle Paul to show the two main responsibilities of this official position in the local church.  The elder/overseer is to pastor the flock of God and give oversight to the ministries of the church.

• The church membership plays a major role in the structure of the church and therefore membership is tied heavily to what we believe from the Scriptures.

• The church has a role in church discipline.

• The church has a role in fervent prayer.

• The church has a role in raising up (discipleship) and sending out missionaries.

• The church has a role in submission to Christ.

• The church has a role in evaluating Biblical character assessment.

• The church has a role in the reconciliation process - the forgiveness given to the repentant fallen.

• The church has a role in restoring church unity among the faithful.

Who are we?  

We are an independent church.  

We have the leadership structure patterned after Biblically given qualifications of a plurality of elders/overseers.  

We are congregational with our church members playing a role in being accountable to God and His Word; accountable to each other to live out the "one anothers" with each other; and accountable to our spiritual leadership in place in accordance to God's standards given to us in His Word.  

This is who we are.

I think it was a watershed moment for me as I delivered this sermon.  It was a time for me to pour over all that I have read and listened to over the years and put it together in one place.  My wife kindly told me that it probably could have been two sermons and maybe it will be the next time I deliver it.  A part two is coming to dive deeper into the pastoral role of the elder/overseer and also to look at that other office of the church given in the Scriptures, the deacons.

It matters what we believe because it bleeds over into what we do and how we do it.  The structure of the 1st century church needed definition and God gave us it within the pages of His book and I am grateful and humbled to be a part of it.

Adam