#gospellight

4 Ways You Can Love Your Church 

I know I am biased but I believe that most of you agree with me here: I love my church! I believe it is important that I state this because we live in an age where the church is under attack. You can find a lot of angry stories, posts and books written on the problems in the church. I know that any group of people can have their problems, but in church we find real friends, great truths and a Godly community with which to connect. 

Since it is the month of February and since this Sunday is “I Love My Church” Sunday, I wanted to zero in on ways that you can love your church.

1) Be a dedicated participant.  We all know by now that church is a participation sport. At our church we have a small army of volunteers and that is the plan of Christ. God has given each of us talents and abilities that we should use for His purpose (Matthew 25:15). A dedicated participant should take their job at church seriously by showing up on time and praying for the work in which they are involved. Only heaven will truly show you how important your time and dedication were to the work of Christ. 

2) Be kind and forgiving. Too often we can be quick to judgment and anger, but slow to forgive when the Bible actually commands the opposite (Proverbs 14:29). A good question to ask yourself is: Do I give the same amount of grace to my church family as I would want to receive from them? The truth is that everyone has flaws so we all should get used to carrying around a pocket full of grace to extend to others when they need it. No one likes a judgmental church and we know that love covers a multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8). 

3) Develop strong friendships in your church. Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” I believe this quote so it is apparent to me that we should all be intentional about building good friendships. Most people just let friendships happen. They hit it off with a personality at work or they find someone funny or charming so they want to be around them. As a Christian, we need to BUILD with purpose strong friendships with Godly people so that we are conforming more into the image of Christ. Do your closest friends push you to be more Godly?

4) Give frequently to your church. The Bible is so clear that our heart will follow where we sent our money (Luke 12:34). We all know that it takes money to turn on lights, send out missionaries, fuel up buses, and pay church workers. When we start to see the value of eternal, spiritual work then we can’t help but become cheerful givers (II Corinthians 9:7). 

Can you think of other ways that you can love your church? Please comment below and add your thoughts.

Two Offices of the Church

The Bible indicates that there are only two offices (positions) that are commanded for each church to have: the pastor and deacons. Philippians 1:1 says “Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ...with the bishops and deacons.” 

We learned in a previous post that all Christians should be active in church work and ministry. We also know that each believer has access to Christ as a priest before Him, but these two offices are specific roles of ministry. We will now look at each role and the responsibilities and qualifications associated with each one. 

The Pastor

The Bible uses 3 different words for this role: elder, bishop, and pastor. It is the belief of this author that a look at each usage will reveal 3 different functions of the same role of pastor (some churches believe that there are 3 different positions). I Peter 5:1-5 uses the word “elder” and provides role responsibilities. The elder is supposed to:

1) feed the flock through solid bible preaching

2) take leadership in the church

3) be an example to the people    

The specific qualifications for a “bishop” are found in I Timothy 3:1-7 and in Titus 1:5-9. The qualifications are broken down into 2 basic categories- character and gifts for ministry. 

A church should pray for, provide financially for, encourage and assist the pastor. The pastor should pray for, minister and provide godly servant leadership for the people in the church. Each has opportunities and responsibilities in the Lord’s church. 

The Deacon  

The second role in a church is the role of deacons. Deacons are selected from within the church membership. The Biblical qualifications for a deacon are found in I Timothy 3:8-13, and they focus primarily on character and relationships within the church, community and family. 

The origin of deacons came from a glaring need that arose early in church history. Acts 6:1-6 records the original intent for a deacon. They are to minister to the physical needs of the members. This care will free up the pastor to focus on the spiritual needs of the congregation. Deacons can also serve as an advisory group in areas of finances and planning. Like the pastor, deacons are supposed to be servant leaders in the church. 

Deacons are usually voted on by the whole church, and whether they serve for a term or as long as they are able, varies from church to church. 

First Blog Series

Hello and welcome to the first topic we are going to cover on our new church blog. We are very excited to have this as a useful tool for everyone. We will share articles from staff and other teachers in our church as well as post some update and informational videos. 

This first series will deal with why we believe what we believe as baptists. Whether you grew up going to church or you just started this year, we strongly believe that it is important to be able to back up your convictions with clear Bible verses. The Bible tells us to be ready to give an answer if anyone should ask us about the hope that is in us. It is important to know what you believe.

We are going to look at seven clear Bible teachings that we hold as truth in our church. There is a helpful acronym to these points as well and we call them the Baptist Distinctives.

B - Biblical authority of Scripture 

A -  autonomy of the local church

P - priesthood of the believer

T - two ordinances: baptism & Lord’s supper

I - individual soul liberty

S - separation of church & state

T - two church offices: pastor & deacon