Christians Never Have Conflicts . . . Right?

Mike Hosey, Elder

Being in a group of any kind means conflict at some point or another. Even the best and nicest families have conflicts.

I know this is going to be hard to believe, but followers of Christ sometimes have conflicts, too. Crazy. I know.

If you've never seen this fact in action it's because you haven't stuck around with one group long enough . . . . or you're living in some remote cabin writing manifestos.

Luckily, Jesus has given us a way to handle conflict with our brothers and sisters. At Fellowship we try to stick to His formula pretty tightly.  You can find it in Matthew 18:15-17. Here's the Summary:

1) When you have a problem with someone, go to that person privately first. You don't chastise them on Facebook, or call them out in Sunday School class, or point out their sin publicly, or use their friend as an intermediary. After all, we are to treat others as we would want them to treat us (Matthew 7:12). Besides, there may be reasons for their behavior that you don't know or understand fully. Unless it's not possible, "going to them privately" implies a face-to-face meeting.

2) If that person doesn't reconcile with you, bring others who can confirm the offense.  This fulfills the spirit of Deuteronomy 19:15. These brothers or sisters can help establish the fact of the offense. They also provide you with confirmation that you tried your best to reconcile the problem personally.

3) If after these actions, the conflict is not resolved, then you take it to church leadership. If you're unable to convince your brother or sister, and your witnesses prove ineffective as well, then your elders can decide whether or not to administer some sort of discipline. And if you've done your part, they'll have enough good information to make a wise decision.

4) If your friend doesn't listen to church leadership then you sever relationships with him or her.  The church may or may not choose to continue in a relationship, but you are to lovingly cut your relationship with that person. After all, conflict cannot continue if one of you isn't participating!

Were James and Moses Senior Pastors?

Mike Hosey, Elder

As an elder, I'm often challenged with questions about multiple elder leadership. These well intentioned challenges come through many avenues. 

Some are from members of our congregation who are trying to grasp this "new" way of leading. Their mindsets (like mine) are often structured by church tradition rather than biblical example.

Others come from friends outside our body who want to remind me of the many singular leaders in the bible, and to hint that if we don't adopt a single human leader we're doomed to failure.

When I ask them to name one church in the New Testament with a senior pastor, they usually respond with silence.  I wonder why?

Occasionally, some contend James was the senior pastor at Jerusalem. They might argue he gave his "sentence" (Acts 15:19 KJV) at the Jerusalem council to settle a dispute brought from  Antioch. But if I point out that the original Greek for that word can also mean "opinion," rather than "sentence," there might be a disdain for my reliance on an original language rather than an esteemed translation. So I highlight that Paul and Barnabas didn't bring that dispute to James; they brought it to the apostles and elders -- of whom James was but one (Acts 15:2). Then I show that the orders resolving the dispute didn't come from James; they came from the apostles and elders (Acts 15:23-28).  This usually settles it, but if it doesn't, I mention that Paul didn't see James as the singular leader at Jerusalem (reference Galatians 2:1 and 2:9).

Someone might ask, "What about Moses? He was singular, right?"

Yes. But keep in mind he wasn't the leader of a local church, but of ALL of God's people at the time. And not only this, he was a priest (Psalms 99:1-9) who approached God and was a mediator for the people. In these ways, he was more akin to a pope than a pastor. Besides, we don't need a priest anymore because we're all priests who can approach God (1 Peter 2:5,9). Finally, God has already given us both a high priest (Hebrews 4:14) and a senior pastor (1 Peter 5:4). 

His name is Jesus.

Changing the Wineskins and Doing Greater Things

This week, Damon Baudoin shares his reflections on the importance of new wineskins.

Damon Baudoin,Student Minister

If any of you have heard any of Nelson Plasencia's messages or edifications to the church lately, you have heard something to the effect of spiritual life being likened to a battle. Nelson's specific statement that I have heard him say is "in the middle of the battle is where the conditions are the most intense". As I preached this past Sunday morning, there are a few things I didn't have time to share that remind me of what Nelson has said and how we should engage in the spiritual war that is around us.

GOD is always changing the atmosphere around you because of the battle between good and evil. It's an all out war! A spiritual war! How many of you actually believe that when you are engaged in war that you sit in the same spot year after year, you park in the same spot year after year, you sing the same song, year after year. No! If you comfortably stay in the location and position you initially chose, you will lose sight of the mission and grow numb to the strategies of your enemy...YOU WILL DIE!!!

We need to trade our old wine skins in for new ones. It is extremely beneficial  to surround yourself with people who aren't scared of new wine and ready for a new wineskin. I like to be around people who are fresh! You know, the kind of people who stay fresh in the Spirit of God and are actually on a MISSION from Heaven! The next generation of Christ Followers is here today. The new wine is the group of souls that walk in the church doors every Sunday looking for salvation and discipleship. The next generation is looking for something fresh and real, not stale and fake.

The next generation doesn't want church folk's insecurities about their faith and twisted personal beliefs, they want the truth of God's word..."Greater Things Than These!"

You know how the old school folks are sometimes. "This new generation needs to know how much I suffered as a child in the recession, they need to memorize the book of Revelations word for word, and clean the toilets before they can even be greeters in the parking lot!"

Greater Things!

Maybe modern day church has gotten it all wrong!  Maybe God already has men and women READY to believe in "Greater Things", THIRST for "Greater Things" and will PERFORM  "Greater Things".

Look at what God did with David. While David was king, he stored up treasures to pass on to Solomon, millions of dollars worth of treasures. Solomon has been known for his wealth, but in reality it was the inheritance that was passed down from David. Solomon never had to work as hard as David did for what he had. Solomon never fought a war, but David came home with blood splatters on him all the time. David never belittled his son Solomon and told him he could never do anything because, "You haven't been through what I've been through".... 

When will the churches of America not be so concerned about their own comfort, and instead store up treasures for the next generation? When will we teach the next generation to change the wineskins in order to hold the new wine.

Wouldn't it be miraculous if when new wine shows up at our church, they wouldn't have to go through the hell, heartache, hurts, habits, and hang-ups the previous generation went through? They wouldn't have to walk away from the Lord for 15+ years then come crawling back still feeling inferior and worthless. We want to be a body of Christ that sees potential in others, and INVESTS in their lives spiritually on our clock, not only on Sunday mornings.

Let us persevere in what God has for each of us and trust in what Jesus teaches us in John 14:12-14 so that we can experience Greater Things as God gives us new wine.

Joshua, Geeky-Nerdese, and a Lonely Man

Mike Hosey, Elder

This past Monday my family sat in a local restaurant awaiting service.  Joshua was playing his portable video game when our waiter walked up and noticed him.

"What are you playing?" he asked. 

Josh answered that he was playing a particular version of a game based on a television cartoon that's popular with boys and adolescent males. 

At this moment a lively conversation erupted between this 20-something-year-old waiter and my 9-year-old son. 

It was really quite fascinating to watch and listen as these two persons separated by more than a decade in age began speaking fluently in some weird dialect of geeky-nerdese. Their conversation lasted a good five minutes or more, and in some places I have no idea what they actually said.

After the waiter left, Kelli, my wife, noted that our waiter was a nice man. Without skipping a beat, and immediately on the tails of my wife's utterance, Emily (my daughter) stated, "He's a very lonely man."

I found this humorous, of course. But I couldn't help but see the comparison between Emily's view of Joshua's conversation with the waiter, and the way an unbelieving world might view Christianity.

It's like this: those of us who know Jesus and who are committed to living in a church family have great joy because of knowing Jesus and having that family. We're excited about it, and we have a language all our own that the world outside our family can't really understand.

The language is functional, and in order to understand fully the world of Christianity, knowing that language is very helpful, and even unites different generations. It shouldn't be abandoned.

Still, the rest of the world doesn't know our joy and doesn't understand our language.  And because of this, those who might otherwise be interested in exploring our joy aren't.  To them, we sometimes look like lonely, nerdy wonks.

Jesus tells us to go to all the nations to teach them and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). To do this well, it helps if we can speak their language without abandoning our own. And the best way to do that is to be relational in the lives of those people (1 Cor 9:19-23).