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MentorNet #10 Copyright © 2002 by George Patterson and
Galen Currah Vigorous spiritual health and
effective ministry arise from interaction between churches and cell
groups as much as from interaction within them. The many New Testament
commands to serve "one another" apply to the whole Body of Christ,
that is, to believers in all the congregations of an area, for no one local
church is the whole Body of Christ but part of it. The value of interaction between churches or
cells is particularly evident in pioneer fields where infant churches are
multiplying for the first time. The new churches often enhance weak
ministries or other deficiencies by grasping the hand extended to them from
other congregations nearby, some of which also may be very new. The same kind of need for cooperation between
churches also becomes painfully evident in older, larger churches. As they
grow in size and wealth, many feel self-sufficient and break off healthy ties
of support and restraint with other congregations. This inevitably leads to
imbalance in their ministries. Interaction between congregations follows the Healthy church body life requires that believers
serve one another locally and in other churches or small groups, using their
different spiritual gifts. (1 Corinthians 12-13, Ephesians 4:11-12 and Romans
12:3-11) God himself requires continual interaction between congregations as
well as within them. The New Testament city churches, such as those in
Jerusalem and Ephesus, were not large congregations that only met together in
one place, but were comprised of clusters of tiny house churches or cells
that celebrated communion and learned the Word of God from "house to
house" (Acts 2:46; 20:20). In the book of Acts and the epistles we find:
Interaction between congregations assures a healthier "A church’s greatest
weakness is its greatest strength taken to excess." This painfully
accurate truism warns against imbalance in a church’s ministries — incomplete
church body life leads to an incomplete, spiritually deformed church body.
The New Testament requires that we keep certain vital ministries in balance
(1 Corinthians 12, the "body life" chapter). There are so many
ministries that one person cannot oversee them alone. Overseers must delegate
many pastoral responsibilities. In the list below, mark those ministries that
need urgent attention in your church. Essential
Church Ministries Shepherd o Watch over the spiritual life of the flock o Strengthen family life o Seek straying lambs, correct and restore them o Ward off wolves--persons who teach falsehood,
divide the body or abuse power o Counsel those with personal or family problems Build the Body o Pray (practice intercession, daily family and
personal devotions, wage spiritual warfare) o Cultivate loving fellowship with wholesome social
activities and times for everyone to participate in some way in the action o Worship as a body, celebrate the Lord’s Supper o Organize so that members serve in gift-based
ministries (larger churches need small groups that are tiny churches within
the larger one) o Give and practice all aspects of Christian
stewardship o Cooperate with other congregations to get help for
weak ministries, and offer help for theirs o Evaluate all these ministries regularly and
strengthen those that are weak Reach out o Evangelize and confirm repentance without delay
with baptism o Serve the needy o Reproduce the body in daughter churches o Send missionaries to neglected peoples Instruct o Teach and apply the Word, by preaching and
personal discipling o Equip all members for ministry o Train new pastors, and group leaders as
shepherding elders Keeping a healthy, edifying balance between these
vital ministries requires the kind of interaction between congregations that
we find in the New Testament. This is because groups that are small enough to
practice the many New Testament "one another’ commands during their
meetings are usually too small to sustain a healthy balance of the different
gift-based ministries. They do not have enough people to cover the range of
spiritual gifts and services that God intends for His people to provide. The
'one another' commands are listed below. Examples: Bear one another’s
burdens, confess your faults to one another, correct one another, serve one
another, etc. Interaction between congregations requires communication Those who mentor missionaries and pastors in
pioneer mission fields find that regional fellowships serving a limited area
in practical ways consistently prove a blessing and source of strength to the
churches. You might recall the camp meetings in which so many of our
grandparents found Christ, received challenging teaching, found godly spouses
and were directed into ministry opportunities. Those were similar to the Hebrew annual festivals
in Most edifying interaction between churches begins
at the local level. It seldom arises from inter-church alliances commonly described
as ecumenical, national, international, denominational, interdenominational
or inter-faith. Those organizations usually involve only officials who
represent their church members, or missionaries who serve far away. Healthful
interaction between congregations requires grass-root cooperation between
members of different churches who see and serve one another regularly. Like the interaction that takes place between the
small groups of a cell church, churches must be located near enough to work
together in projects that enhance fellowship, evangelism, intercession,
community development or other endeavors of mutual benefit to their churches
or their communities. In both churches and cell groups, interaction requires
purposeful, decisive and disciplined action by leaders. When the distance between churches is too far to
allow hands-on, grass-root interaction, then their focus shifts from
practical projects to inter-church politics. Church politics at a national
level in newly formed church associations on mission fields often become
bumpy. In many cases, denominational structures lure power-hungry types to
seek leadership positions. In the older, mainline denominations many leaders
in such positions admittedly doubt Christ’s atoning death and bodily, life-giving
resurrection while passionately embracing inter-faith cooperation in which
clergy persons are ashamed to pray publicly in Jesus’ name, lest they offend
their Buddhist "brothers." Developing good communication between churches
normally does not require attending another workshop or seminar. Churches
seeking help to strengthen a ministry too often send their leaders to a
workshop to learn some new method. They go asking, "How can we do
it?" That is usually the wrong question. They should rather ask, "Who
can help us do it?" A relational solution is more often the biblical
approach. Those who can offer help are usually available in the congregation
or another one nearby, if we let them know that we need it. We cannot serve one another, if we do not know
one another’s weaknesses and strengths. This requires communication and
trust. E-mail is an awkward way to communicate by comparison with
face-to-face conversation, but it is better than nothing. If you want to let
us know areas in which you, your church or your small group wants help, let
us know. We have made this easy for churches in Interaction between congregations requires freedom to do what Churches will not practice interactive body life
simply because their mission statement or bylaws says to do it. Nor do they
practice it by electing leaders democratically to positions to foster it. Two
problems arise from democratic elections. One is that democracy excludes
persons who serve out of love but are not known well enough to win an
election. Or, several people have the spiritual gifts to shepherd others, but
the church bylaws only allow a smaller number. The other problem is that churches elect people
for a limited term, while the Holy Spirit’s gifting has no such limits. The
election says, "You may use your spiritual gift to serve in this
ministry until your term expires." Similarly, when elected leaders
coordinate Train and Multiply, or other programs that combine church
planting with pastoral training, the program often "expires" when
an elected leader’s term expires. Most pastors must open the door much wider
to spontaneous volunteer service. Not only pastors but also all of Christ’s
servants can take the initiative in reaching out to members of other
churches. Have you visited a church and felt disappointed, because no one
spoke warmly to you? Pastor Mike Blondino would
respond if you voiced this complaint, "Shame on you!" In other
words, take the lead. Set the example. Use the power that the Holy Spirit
gives you to reach out. Balanced ministry requires purposeful implementation of the Discuss with your staff and membership,
specifically how, and with whom, to practice these "one
another" commands. Study the ones you need most urgently to practice.
Let your people decide which ones to study. Build Loving Fellowship One
with Another
Interact with care:
Serve one another:
Teach one another:
Encourage:
Edify:
Give spiritual care:
Cultivate harmony with
humility one with another
Live in harmony:
To find mentoring tools and
sites, visit <http://www.MentorAndMultiply.com>. We invite those who use Train
& Multiply™ to write to George Patterson at <[email protected]>. For information on T&M,
visit <http://www.TrainAndMultiply.com>. For information on Paul &
Timothy Training, visit <http://www.Paul-Timothy.net>. For information on "Come,
Let Us Disciple the Nations" CD-ROM <http://www.AcquireWisdom.com>. To order the Church Multiplication Guide, visit your Christian bookshop or
<http://www.wclbooks.com>. |