The Wrong Model

Romans 10:14-17

Verse 14 is asking three very important questions; “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”  As a pew sitter it is easy to read past such questions, the enemy of your soul will tell you those are questions for preachers or maybe missionaries but not us pew people.  But the Holy Spirit has not stopped asking questions; “And how are they to preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”  It may be of interest to some that it is written in Isaiah 52:7, and it is making reference to news being carried by a herald, who is announcing the end of hostilities and the fact that God reigns over His people and kings.

But one should not get lost in where it is written, but in the questions above being asked by the Holy Spirit.  As a pew person you and I have heard the voice an it sure sounds like our voice in our ear; saying this is going to cost money, I wonder whom they will get to go?  I’m sure glad it is not me I’m not equipped with the skills, the training, or even the desire to be used in such a way.

I’ve often given thought to what I will refer to as the Baptist model, or the plan to reach the unchurched and it goes something like this; we are going to have camels, sheep and maybe a donkey in our Christmas pageant.  Our job pew person is to ask your neighbors to come see them and we will sing songs and have a short message about Jesus.  And then your job is to talk them to come back the next week to hear more about a person they do not know, told to them by a person they do not know, and sit next to people they do not know; folks the plan is not working.

I’m not sure where that model came from, but it seems to not be working so it could be time to examine this model found in Ephesians 4:11-l2: “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.”  Why did God give us pastors and evangelists if not for a much greater model than the “Baptist model” to equip us for the work of service, not at the building we so wrongly call the church, but in our homes, in our schools, in our neighborhoods, and in the market place. 

You are not called to a building, but to the lost world, and many of us have more hours in Bible studies and sitting under great preaching and teaching, but few in sharing what Jesus has done for us.  Many in the pews have never been ask by their pastors or teachers to share what God is doing in their ministry, at home, in the workplace, it seems as if they have no expectations of a pew person having a ministry.  But that does not give the pew sitter an excuse, for it is clearly understood we were called, we were commanded by God the Father to do what 1 Timothy 6:18, has instructed us to do; Command them (that the pew folks, you and me) to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”  Share the love and mercy that is found only in Jesus Christ, share how Jesus has changed your paradigms, your marriage, your job and how you handle the money and stuff He has entrusted to you.  Now it is important to understand the following: you are not going to change the neighbors, your teenager, your wife or husband, or the people you work with, but God, yes God loves them and He has a good plan for them, so do as (2 Chronicles 20:12) Instructs, “O our God . . . we are powerless . . . nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on Thee.”  In keeping your eyes on Jesus, He will do it all for you, using your earthsuit in ways that will amaze you and others, and lives will be changed.

One of my hero’s of the faith is C.T. Studd, and these quotes have been a challenge to this “pew sitter” “True religion is like the smallpox. If you get it, you give it to others and it spreads.”  “Let us not glide through this world and then slip quietly into heaven, without having blown the trumpet loud and long for our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Let us see to it that the devil will hold a thanksgiving service in hell, when he gets the news of our departure from the field of battle.”  And last, but this quote of C.T. Studd’s has often come to mind when I want the comfort of the pews, “Some wish to live within the sound of church and chapel bell. I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell!”  You and I were never designed to be pew people, no we are Ambassadors for Christ, and we are more than conquerors.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice