Evangelism.... and Legalism....... and........ a solution........

Hmmm, today, in my inbox, I found a link to an article written about complaining and its perceived relationship with evangelism, an article whose author had come to the conclusion that, as some would put it:

"If you wanna complain, you gotta evangelize first."

Some valid points in that.  Obedience in spite of problem is of high value.  Furthermore, the problem addressed by the article is very real......... I mean, it is utterly true that:

Even a spiritual infant can evangelize!  And it is important not just to notice when it happens, but it is important to understand that every single believer is able to stand in the light given to each of us, that each one of us can begin living out the great commission right away - at least in little ways right away. Of course, that should continue throughout our lives, even as we each strive to mature more and more fully in the Lord.

But putting even a well meaning guideline into such terms creates a dictum.  Many a dictum has led many a heart, and even many a church, into many a breed of legalism.  Things haven't changed much in that aspect yet.  Even today, many a dictum can lead many a heart into many a breed of legalism yet again.  One question which arises, then, is simply this:  How ought church leadership respond to complaining?

As for complaining itself:  Much 'complaining' has to do with church functioning.  Much of the sort of complaining which was being discussed at the above mentioned link is about how the church functions, or fails to do so, and is expressed by immature members among the laity.  Hate it!  But.........:   Been there.  Joined them in that.  Heard others go there.  Hate it even more now!  ---  I hope and pray that I've left all that in my past.  But I need God's grace to accomplish such a task day by day.

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That said, first off, and this is my premise:  orderly, and might I add, non-dysfunctional church functioning does indeed promote evangelism.  Thus, the immature complaining being addressed by the article in question  specifically by the above mentioned laity, while they do not realize it, is actually driving the attention where it ought to have already been.

I mean, back when the Israelites were complaining...... that is to say, *after* the Israelites were complaining, Moses would go and pray for their needs.  Then God would intervene and provide for those needs, and, sometimes, He would also apply any needed corrections for the edification of those present who were of faith at that time and for the edification of those who are of faith now.

Hmmm, how to put this.  In my own life, God has been teaching me about specificity in prayer.  As one dear young lady, a friend of mine, very simply put it, "God already knows what we need, He just likes us to ask Him."  She was right.  He does like us to ask Him.  He even likes us to ask Him in specifics.  So the question of when to pray, and what to pray comes to mind.  Obviously, the answer has everything to do with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

In my own case, the Holy Spirit had been challenging me to pray with more specificity for some time.... first more subtly, and later, quite obviously.  Those around me would occasionally hear my confessions that I knew I had not prayed enough.  Perhaps the nodding of heads, along with a sense that we all know we could and should all pray more, lulled me into a relative complacency.  While, on the one hand, I sought to grow in prayer, on the other hand, I knew down deep inside that I was not growing in prayer as much as I should.  Sometimes, I would pray specifically, but not broadly enough (such as the times when I would ask God to protect my children from spider bites, yet He allowed them to bite me......, with yet another reminder to be more specific........).  Sometimes those I should be ministering to have 'gone without', at least for a time, because I did not pray about some specific need or other, either in at all, or with the specificity that God has been calling me to.  Nor did I do enough to teach those I ministered to pray for those needs....., though that is a complicated issue (which is a whole 'nuther book......).

As for prayer - and the story of Moses praying for God's people as mentioned above:  Perhaps, before the veil was rent, it was the job of the priestly family to do the praying for everyone else.  Perhaps, even in Moses' day, the people should not have been taught to bring their petitions before God themselves.  However, perhaps they should have been taught to

As an example of dysfunction in just one type of church-organization:

In too many of the churches, or portions of churches, where discipleship evangelism is being preached, but not implemented as preached (in particular: helping the young/infant/children type of Christians grow in the Lord and become 'spiritual adults' - which should, of course, include evangelism in varying ways at all stages of development), there is a growing confusion which is impacting the church's ability to coordinate around evangelism.

If the goal in discipleship-focused churches is supposedly "to raise up discipleship groups that produce discipleship groups" *in order to reach others for Christ and draw them into a discipleship environment*, but the emphasis *in practice* focuses on efforts to reproduce more groups (thereby 'demonstrating' evangelism), all without real discipleship going on (with 'real discipleship' meaning: actually helping all of the spiritual infants and youth who have a teachable spirit learn from a spiritual parent; which would necessarily include spiritual parents helping the 'younger' believers who are less 'goal oriented' learn how to break down bigger goals-about-maturing-in-various-ways into manageable bites --- manageable specifically for them......, guiding them *at the developmental level of the child/youth not only spiritually, but functionally as well* - errrrr..... all of which can be a daunting task..... I mean, being a parent of a child/youth who does not function the way the parent does is never easy --- it takes prayer over time to learn from Our Heavenly Father just how to parent any. one. child., let alone a whole family of varying types of children, or a whole small group of varying types of disciples....... - something which is more difficult, perhaps, for goal oriented pastors to picture..... Really: how does a goal oriented pastor and/or 'spiritual parent' deal with many less *naturally* goal oriented laity/infants-children - especially when you include 'the least of these, my brethren' - which would include the developmentally challenged .... err.... might I put it in the terms of those who have visual impairments, which means that they don't see what you think they see........... in either small or significant ways...... after all, many children need rather specialized parenting - -- something that any true and committed parent can learn how to do through prayer, if they will devote themselves fully to pray, with all fervency),....

.......anyway, in the midst of parental dysfunction (a parent not knowing how to parent - and thus a parent devolving into the ruins of legalism), the obvious hypocrisy of not doing what you teach confuses the spiritual youth, making it difficult for them to *want* to bring in others to that sort of confusion. For them to do so would be like saying, "Hey, do you want to come and be built up in a state of confusion with me? Don't you want to come with me and be brought into a family where you are expected to perform without being taught how to perform!!!???? Won't that be fun!??? Then we can be confused, miserable, and utterly shamed by our parents together!!!!! Woohoo!!!"

For the youth/infants to do so would require maturing faith...... which God can grant, and does at times.

However, for a 'parent' to expect their infants and youth to apply such mature faith, without walking in that path *directly with them*, and then for that same parent to judge them from the sideline, would be like expecting children to go to their school, pick up their books, and do their lessons without being taught.

Seeing the reasonable frustration and even anger of the child leaves one thinking of the verse:

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart."

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That said, a few people can actually survive an academic arena with little to no instruction.

However, in the business world, and in the schools, it is very clear that most people cannot grow without hands on training in knowledge, academic skills, wisdom, or in job performance.

Think about it.  It's so simple:  Most people are not so innovative that they can devise 'best practice' on their own, let alone *implement* established best practice on their own.

Most people don't want to innovate best practice.  And most people don't even begin to think about how to implement best practice for themselves.

Yes, Christians do have the Holy Spirit to guide them, but even Paul said, "Do as you have *seen me do*."

Again, through fervent prayer, people can figure out how to implement instructions in solo fashion - or as a group, with or without verbal/video instruction......, but is that the way things *should* be?

If we look at a 'family' or even a 'corporate body', clearly that is not how things should be.

That is not how families or bodies work in the real world any more than it is how they work in the spiritual world.

Criticizing the untrained youth and children is destructive (and some church leadership does criticize their untrained youth and children - and even untrained adults to some extent....... all without offering training........ all quite literally).

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In summary:

Only a very few people can actually grow in the spiritual arena with little to no tutoring by simply working off of the list of to-do's, because they are goal oriented types of people.  I mean, they can even take the 'to do' of leaning on the Holy Spirit very seriously.  Viola!  Success!  (for a few......)

However, most people cannot do that - whatever type of church organization is being embraced by a local body.

If we want our churches to evangelize more broadly, we as a church need to use an orderly means of following our Head, that is Christ, - an orderly means that we will actually live out together, whatever that model is.

If we want to encourage those in the pews to grow spiritually, keep our first love, and thereby reach the lost, we can't afford to take short cuts in implementing orderly growth, internally, and externally.  (properly taking care of one's own body, and then using that body to tend to the garden as it were)

R. C. Sproul spoke about the organization of the church being so necessary.  Some complain about organization, wanting to be free to simply worship God, rather than being caught up in religion.  So they run off on their own.  (a different type of choice which also fails to evangelize..... illustrating the fact that the 'body' should evangelize......., even though, sometimes, individuals do......... but mostly, only if they are truly connected to a body ...............  )

Anyway, R.C. Sproul's response to those who are tired of religious organization, so they decry organization is simply that any 'body' that is not organized will not live long. -------- soooo well said........

While I'm not meaning to imply that you, Thom S. Rainer, are seeking to short circuit more order to the body (obviously not)...... I am saying that some might hear your words here, and use them to add to a stronghold that they have already been fashioning to protect themselves from the truth........to protect their legalistic hypocrisy.

That said, if a body has an orderly plan, but cannot live by that plan because they are worshiping the god of 'evangelism first' & only *really* the gospel presentation - not the gospel *function* - all at the expense of working the orderly plan......, then, not surprisingly, disorder occurs..... and..... well........

Well, let's just say that one would necessarily see that the body is experiencing spasms which are not profitable for the body, nor for the lost.

It's just a terrible state of confusion.

Those in leadership in such spasmodic churches will likely not see clearly on that subject, because those in the church nearest them are in a functioning relationship with them..., so the fault is though, necessarily, to be 'their fault'...... (whose fault?:  why of course! It's the fault of .........the infants and children.......!  What?????!!!!! --- because they are not functioning like the adults who are close to the church leadership.........  )

Of course infants and youth do not function like adults, especially when they are mostly left to themselves to follow instructions.

When the above truths are understood and established as the paradigm from which we look back on the first gospel efforts, Christianity grew like wildfire back in the days of Rome because it was a religion for the plebes (.... errr..... might I suggest: for the spiritually dead, the spiritual infants, and the spiritual youth)....., not just those close to the leadership team.

FWIW, in the case of a breakdown between leadership and the laity (or the parents and the infants), simply stating that no one should complain unless they have evangelized first, is a bit of an oversimplification.........

That's like saying that children who have merely seen "the video" or heard "the lecture", or have even been to the small group "discussion" should necessarily be able to go out on their own and do whatever task is set before them.  Any large family who implemented such practice with all of their children, and then sent their children off individually to implement their new knowledge set, would find that many of their children simply do not 'see' everything they were shown through the video, lecture, or discussion.

Until the eye can see what is to be done, ......... well, there is no light.

"But if your vision is poor, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"

Not to say that evangelism should stop, just because the local body is experiencing seizures and/or even darkness, but seizures/darkness should hardly be ignored "for the sake of evangelizing" (again, not that you are arguing for that, but some, upon hearing your words, would add to the fortress walls which protect their hypocrisy).......

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The Great Commission, that is to say, Evangelism.....:  Yes, evangelism itself, according to the Great Commission, does indeed include making disciples in an organized church body (parenting the little ones very, very directly, one way or another).

That was supposed to be the whole point of the small group movement.  It's a great idea.  But any idea implemented without grace will run into ruin.

Therefore, the solution here must begin with grace........ and parents are the ones who should set the tone for grace.........  sometimes children do......... but that is not how it should be..........

So, in summary, some of those who decry any complaints about such 'seizures' as those mentioned above (or other types of 'seizures' in other styles of church organization) - without emphasizing evangelizing first, simply want to continue the hypocrisy in their own leadership......., and complain about the results of that legalism/hypocrisy.

What that would mean is that children cannot complain if they have gone into shut down (as some children do when they are asked to do a task which is beyond them at the moment), until they have gotten *themselves* out of shut down.

Such complaints against those who have 'shut down' for whatever reason will not produce the fruit of true evangelism.

Rather, grace, ........... true grace........ that is the place where evangelism begins........

Thanking God for grace already received!  Praising God for grace past, present, and future!  And seeking grace in all things........ in all moments........ for all people..........

Those people with whom we have a grievance both in and out of the church.

Those people whom we love, with whom God has a grievance, both in and out of the church........

And foremost...... seeking grace, each of us more every day....... that we may grow in grace.......  His kind of grace........ His actual grace............  grace abounding more and more in all things......

Which would indeed obliterate complaining, and which would indeed produce fruit unto salvation...... in our own lives, and in the lives of the lost.