We are a local church, a small expression in a particular place of the universal Body of Christ. We have a glorious Husband who loves us and gave Himself for us. We share a glorious Spirit who gifts us and unites the many members as one Body. We pitch a glorious lesson to the spiritual beings about the wisdom of God. And we advance a glorious mission to make disciples—from all nations—who follow Christ. We are a community of worshipping disciples who seek to live out Christ’s lordship over all things.

We don’t always do a very good job. We don’t always submit to our Husband. We don’t always enjoy one accord in the Spirit. We don’t always make God look wise by how we (don’t) get along. We easily forget our mission to make disciples, sometimes because we’re not even thinking straight about what it is to be a disciple ourselves.

All of our problems are okay, and not okay. It’s “okay” in the sense that God could fix everything all at once if He wanted to. He usually works slowly but supernaturally. Not only is His plan on track it’s also on time. He sent His Son to redeem us from everlasting punishment and from every petty look and from everything in between. He’s at work on us.

A church is a hot bed of change, a greenhouse for growth. It’s impossible to twist a bunch of live wires together without sparks. The paint on each one of us is still wet and, when a bunch of canvases are stacked together, we’re likely to drip on each other. Again, it’s okay because that’s one of the ways God chooses to get the right colors on us.

At the same time, it’s not okay. We can’t ignore sin, or even immaturities, just because it takes a while. Rome wasn’t built in a day but the workers still had work to do every day. Remembering that God is the God of endurance (Romans 15:6) doesn’t mean that we should test Him, it means that we should trust Him as we work, however long it takes.

Things are okay and not okay at TEC. In some sense, it will always be that way because we hope to always have God’s blessing of new kids and new members to bring along. Body life is a group project which is why Paul wrote that the saints do the work of ministry, not that (paid) ministers do the work of saints (Ephesians 4:11-16). Pastors and teachers equip the saints so that the saints can help each other grow up in Christ. We need every part working properly so that the whole body will be built up in love.

That sounds goooooood. But how does that happen? What does that look like? Will be able to see it if it does happen? Should we expect it? Should we work towards it? Of course we should work—equipping prepares a ship to sail, not to sit at the dock. Of course we should expect growth, otherwise, we’re not believing God’s promise. We may not see it completely, but we should have some enjoyment of fruit by grace. We should be able to recognize an increase in unity or disunity, an increase in loveliness or an increase in fussiness.

We have both, which is okay and not okay. We shouldn’t freak out and we also shouldn’t put on our congregational nightcaps and wait to wake up until everything is somehow just better. And really, we’re at work already.

Part of that work involves Life to Life groups. At the beginning of the month we announced a couple changes to our Life to Life group trellis. Before that, when the elders were considering the changes, we discussed that it might be helpful to work through a short series about the purpose of L2L groups. A third or more of the flock don’t participate regularly, many who do attend don’t seem to understand (or agree with) the direction and, even for those who love it and/or lead it, a refresher might help.

Sunday Night Isn’t Small Potatoes

Looking at the calendar, I was going to start tonight. The evening service seemed like a great place to work through these issues. We’ve addressed multiple, crucial subjects regarding the trajectory of our church on Sunday nights. But not everyone comes back on Sunday night. Which has led some to ask (reasonably), Why not do some of those messages in the morning?

One reason is because we love Sunday night services. They aren’t leftover warm-overs. They have a different feel than Sunday mornings because they serve a somewhat different purpose, but their purpose is no less valuable. So we love them even if not everyone does. That said, maybe it could be beneficial to talk about these types of things in the morning.

But, there are others who are really uncomfortable when we don’t do verse-by-verse on Sunday mornings. They have been conditioned that sequential exposition is Preaching God’s Way, rather than a way of preaching that pleases God. Though I’ve done a few series (such as the Marks of a Maturing Church, Boom!, etc.) they are always itching to get back to the really “important” material.

Stirring the Pot and Stepping on Toes

So in a conscious effort to stir the pot a little, for the next month, our series in John’s Gospel will move to Sunday nights (tonight, 10/7 and 10/21). This series on shepherding will take place on Sunday mornings during the same time.

Making this switch (seasonally temporary as it is) may aggravate the verse-by-verse-is-the-only-true-way crowd, especially if they don’t normally come at night. We think verse-by-verse is important, too, and so is Sunday night. Come back tonight at 6:00pm. Making the switch may also aggravate those who don’t normally participate in L2L. If they wanted to talk about L2L they’d probably already be showing up to L2L and now we’re “forcing” them to hear about it. But L2L groups are part of the means toward our congregational goal, and we would love for everyone to understand how so, even if they rededicate their lives to staying away.

To use another analogy, if we were dancing, this is me going out of my way to step on some toes. I’m not mad and it’s not just for fun. I’m thinking about what would be most helpful for our flock. Believe it or not, that is a constant question—more like an obsession—for the elders, What would be most helpful for our flock?

The motivation for asking the question and the general measuring stick we use come from the same place. The same passage that requires us to ask the question also supplies the goal of the question. That passage is Colossians 1:28.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (Colossians 1:24–29, ESV)

Paul was completing (or filling up) three things in this paragraph: 1) completing the sufferings of Christ, 2) completing the stewardship of Christ’s Word, and 3) completing the Christlikeness of believers. The first two were part of the third and it is this third completing concern that sets the standard for what is most helpful for the flock: What will help us become more like Christ? Or, how does God form Christ in Christians?

Getting to Know Christ

The reason Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians related to the false teaching that knocked Christ down to the same level as other gods or practices. Paul greets the heresy by trumpeting the preeminence of Christ. In Him we have forgiveness (1:14). In His kingdom we have light and an inheritance (1:12-13). In Christ is the wisdom and power and glory of all creation (1:15-17). In Christ is the authority and direction and life of the church, His Body (1:18). In Christ’s suffering men are reconciled to God (1:20-22) and delivered from worldly philosophy and ascetic practices (2:6-8). In Christ we have a heavenly, eternal home (3:1-4). He is supreme, He is Savior. So we proclaim Him (1:28).

We must always get to know Him better. That includes getting to know things about Him, details and doctrines, His likes and dislikes, His commands and His example. But our knowledge of His will (1:9) helps us know Him and “walk in a manner worthy” of Him (1:10). We relate to Him, fellowship with Him, meet with Him in Word and prayer and worship. We’ll eventually be with Him, face to face, forever.

As we get to know Him we are also being made like Him. One of the reasons for learning about Him is because we are learning what we’re to become. Paul’s aim was to present everyone mature in Christ, complete in their Christlikeness. The goal for each believer is a conformity to God’s Son which we know is also God the Father’s eternal purpose (Romans 8:29). We must get to know the blueprint so that we can know what shape the building should take.

This is why studying the Bible is so important. It provides an inspired, inerrant blueprint of Christ for the sake of our increased Christlikeness. This is why theology is critical because we become like what we behold.

The difficulty here is that His glory won’t sit still. Christ doesn’t change (Hebrews 13:8), but His glory is so great that it can’t be contained. We can’t pose Him how we want. There isn’t a still picture that does Him justice. We’re being transformed from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18) and, in light of His infinite glory, we’ve got a lot of glory to go. The more we get to know Christ, the more we’ll have to change, not less.

Our appreciation for men, both living and dead, is an appreciation because they help us to adore Christ better. There is only one Savior. We only have one Lord, though our Lord has many servants who have learned to serve Him well as they got to know Him better. They may have seen a different angle that needs work.

But come back to Colossians 1:28. If we want to follow Paul’s passion and pattern and purpose, we have two subjects to study, not one.

Getting to Know You

In order to present men complete in Christ, we need to know Christ and we need to know men. That is, we must identify how men are and are not like Christ so that we can help them grow in Christlikeness. Studying the Bible and obeying the Bible requires us to study something in addition to the Bible. (It’s similar to Paul’s command to Timothy to “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” in 1 Timothy 4:16.)

Not everyone is at the same stage or in the same shape. Not everyone has the same immaturities or sins. Each person is different and, for that matter, will reflect Christ differently even when they are complete. Christ has so much glory that it takes a body of different members to reflect that glory. Even when we are glorified none of us will be infinite. So at best we will still be partial reflections when we are complete in Christ.

Paul emphasizes the particular and peculiar nature of the work with the repetition of warning every man…teaching every man…to present every man.

Some warnings and teachings can be applied with a broad brush. I’ll give an example. From a general perspective, our church is not struggling with a lack of knowledge about the Bible, we tend to struggle with a lack of obedience to the Bible. Again, that’s a broad observation, so we need different warnings than other churches. We don’t need as many warnings about how other Christians need their toes stepped on. We need warnings about hearing and not doing and deceiving ourselves. We need warnings about using Scripture to rationalize why we can’t love another person when the Scripture points us to love. Bible-loving people are going to have the problems that Bible-loving people have.

In general, we need teaching about how God relates to speed limits and furniture, not just about the ordo salutis. The problem with Kuyper is not that he’s an idol for us, it’s that he pushes our idols over and laughs about it. We complain about someone else “following a man” because that’s easier than repenting. Who wants to do that?

Theology isn’t a trump card, it’s a knife that cuts our throats so that God can rearrange us as living sacrifices on the altar. We are the ones who need to repent first, which is why I prefer talking about our sins.

It’s also why we love L2L groups. L2L isn’t the only way to do this, but it seems like a wise way to get to know more about you. What do you pray for? What do you fuss about? Do you sit back or do you never stop talking? Are you more likely to sin by apathy or by arrogance? What gets you fired up? Can you rejoice with those who rejoice or are you a little envy machine? Do you ever reach a conclusion or do you prefer an endless line of questions? What are your buttons? What are your gifts?

These are all part of getting to know you to help you become more like Christ. Most of these cannot be accomplished on Sunday morning. In this service we are corporately meeting with God and worshipping as a flock. But it’s not the end of the program. It’s like the fat kid spinning the merry-go-round of the rest of the week as we get together and warn each other and teach each other from psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. We actually do need to apply what we learn and, applying what Paul said, that includes getting to know what others need to apply.

Conclusion

We get that getting to know one another makes people uncomfortable. We get that most of us don’t have good experiences baring our souls only to have it used against us.

Of course it is possible for us to be judgmental, but making judgments is part of the shepherding job. Humility does not keep us from evaluating others, it keeps us from being jerks, and from holding others to standards of growth that we aren’t pursuing, and from acting like we’ve “already obtained this or [are] already perfect,” failing to “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).

”Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” “When each part is working properly” then “the body grows so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

How are you going to know Christ’s love and then love like Christ if you are isolated from relationships? How are you going to know if you truly understand the Trinity? Because you can list all the verse references? Or because you enjoy being with someone who’s different than you?

Shepherding is not an exercise in the abstract. We proclaim Christ. He’s a person, not a sentence on a page. He’s purchased the sanctification for persons and He calls us to work it out together. Those who chaff or hide just answer the question: What does he/she need to become more like Christ?

This appears to be a win-win situation, at least if by “win-win” we mean encouraging different groups to get over their bother of choice. That includes those who claim that they just don’t like change at all. That position, taken to the extreme, means that they don’t like being changed into the image of Christ either. And actually, according to Colossians 1:28-29, we’re supposed to be striving (by God’s strength) to help them get there. His glory won’t sit still, which means that we can’t either.