His Hand is on the Door

Another Look at Team Ministry…

April 14th, 2007

I am writing this examination of the concept of “team ministry” for one reason - it is the beginning of a series I am doing that will examine the nature and implications of the Emergent Church movement related to the end of the age.  Thus, the purpose of writing this is to establish for you my broader philosophy of the roles different “tribes” and groups play within the body of Christ in this hour.  It is important to me that we are on the same page before I say what I am going to say next.

Those that know me know that my aim is to be unusually conciliatory and honoring of different “streams”, movements, and expressions of the body of Christ throughout the earth.  I greatly value and enjoy the astonishing creativity of God - the God who birthed what is now 6,000 languages (and counting).  Beyond this, I have continually valued and honored what I consider to be an expression of “team ministry” that transcends one corporate gathering or group of people with a variety of gifts and talents.

I see an expression of team ministry reflected in the corporate church of individual cities, nations, and whole generations, depending on the scope of local, national, and international ministries and their God-given spheres of influence.  One church in a city might function in a more evangelistic manner that serves the whole city, while another church is more teaching-oriented; still another group might excel in equipping for missions and function as a true sending vehicle to launch skilled leaders to the nations.  Everyone can play different parts on the team of a city church, whether they operate in such a manner knowingly or not.  Jesus is a skilled Apostolic leader fully able to gather a diverse group of leaders to a geographic location to serve His purposes.

So it is in that spirit that I have been quick to honor brothers in the body of Christ that function in ways that serve cities and nations in broader ways than many desire to give credit for.  While it is valid to question some pastor’s motives in the manner in which they establish “seeker-sensitive” expressions, this does not give us license to then dismiss the viability of the entire seeker-sensitive movement.  Could it be true that God has actually called some to establish these kinds of ministries in the body of Christ in our day?  While others, looking to duplicate or replicate the success of the legitimate structures that have been built, often end up doing so for transparently ambitious and self-gratifying reasons, we must be careful in our judgments and religious opinions in deciding the worth of a thing that might serve a God-ordained purpose beyond our limited perspectives.

True God-initiated seeker-sensitive churches serve the body of Christ in two critical ways: first, they are zealous to pursue skillful and excellent communication of biblical truths; and second, they often end up contributing significantly to the building of the whole body of Christ in a geographic location.  We must admit that excellence in communication is a worthy pursuit, and one that is better than entertaining poor communication in the name of unbiblical idealism regarding authentic Christianity.  If we were honest, we would also admit that there are churches near seeker-sensitive ones that are secretly thankful.  Why?  They owe much to these churches for believers that progressed as far as they could after finding Jesus before shifting to a spiritual family that better fit their increased hunger for more “meat” from the scriptures as well as an answer to their unsatisfied  yearning for the deep things of God.

If seeker-sensitive churches are content to play their role on the “team” rather than build the biggest, most successful ode to their giftedness on the block, then everyone wins in the end.  If other pastors can come to terms with the fact that “sheep stealing” is a farcical notion birthed from insecurity and sinful ambition rather than the word of God, they would then be fine with people shifting to different expressions of the the body reflected in the different corporate gatherings throughout their cities.  Different seasons of growth, maturity, and development demand that believers run with different groups that best fit those seasons.  Pastors that are willing to serve, launch, and recognize their limitations can be free of heart and pleased to have played a role in loving a member of the broader body of Christ that is valuable to Jesus.  Pastors that seek to be “all things to all men” in a vain effort to gather all peoples to themselves will be sorely disillusioned and frustrated with the passage of time.

Thus, we need the excellence in which seeker-sensitive ministries (called by God) communicate gospel truths to the unsaved or the newly saved.  We need the faithful commitment to scripture that the baptists exhibit, the excellence in teaching of the Calvary Chapel movement, and the love for the things of the spirit that the Charismatic expresses.  I love that prayer ministries are being established in cities around the world.  I love that there are many significant ministries (Hillsong, Vineyard, Integrity) that have contributed mightily to the worship culture of the church of this generation.  The Wesleyan / Methodist movement did the same for generations past.

I never want to fall into the trap of assuming that the stream that I swim in is innately superior to the ones that others enjoy.  I never want to give myself to an elite spirit that desires a conformity to my spiritual culture.  We need Campus Crusade, Young Life, Navigators, Intervarsity, Youth With a Mission, Acquire the Fire, and many other ministries and expressions that serve their redemptive purpose under the sovereign call of God for this hour of history.  Everyone plays a part.

This is important to me that my heart on these issues is clear.  The reason is this: I have serious questions and issues with the Emergent Church movement.  I am not alone in this, nor am I the first to raise these questions.  It is important to me, however, to establish my own “ground rules” before being what is, for me, uncharacteristic of my normative posture towards other brothers and sisters in Christ.  I do not want to unintentionally give permission to, nor room for, ungodly religious opinions that refuse to take into account the purposes and plans of a soveriegn God that transcend our own perceptions and reasoning.  It is not my way to speak ill of sincere believers who truly seek to honor Christ with their lives and choices.  Those that know me know that I often speak well of pre-trib brothers - of whom I want to extend much charity and respect in regards to their labors to see the lost won to Christ.  Regardless of how Christ is preached, I delight that He is preached to all.

That said, I want to conduct my own honest examination over the next week of the Emergent Church movement.  Again, I have grave concerns over both the present expression and what I feel is the logical future destination.  In my next post, I am not going to address them - it is important that I first define this movement so that we have a common understanding of what I mean when I say “Emergent”.  Then, I want to examine in my next post what I feel are some illegitimate foundations.  I will wrap up the series with a look at what I believe the future has in store for the emergent church.

It should be an interesting week.

David

Entry Filed under: emerging church