Becoming Antioch

I will tell you something. There is an appeal to the larger churches. It seems that they are always doing more, being more effective. More people want to go to the bigger churches. Sure, they will dress up the issue of why they choose the bigger churches, such as the music program is better. There are plenty of teachers and youth programs. The facilities are state of the art, and the parking is more convenient. And then there are ladies’ groups, men’s ministries, family activities, missions and missions trips, choir, etc.

Bigger churches even have conferences to teach the smaller churches how to be like the bigger churches. And though there may not be anything wrong with the bigger churches, is this the best model to look at? Do we have plateaus we consider, we want to reach? We have so many members. Though there are some works being done in the bigger churches, for our model we should do what our movement does best, look at tradition! Look at the Bible. If we are to become like a church, Antioch is that church to become. (READ TEXT)

What we see here is what we do not see here. We have Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark returning from Jerusalem. It is also interesting to ponder, which I did Wednesday night, was Paul one of those who told Rhoda to be quiet? After all they came with John Mark and the prayer meeting was at his mom’s home. If anything, it goes to paint a picture of a couple of men that we tend to put on pedestals.  And we do that. We find a leader we like and we start believing that they are like super human. They don’t sin, or if they do, their big sin is speeding, or under-tipping. Anyway, the Bible gives us an honest picture of who they are.

What we do not see here, or anywhere in the New Testament, is reference to the size of the church. So often today, we feel that in order to be an effective church, we must have people so we can have programs so we can make progress. But it is easier in the larger churches. Reality is that the same percentage of the people do the work in a church of 1000 as they do in the church of 50.

We are, however, a smaller congregation. So how do we move from here? How do we become like the church of Antioch, or the church of the New Testament? In our short three verses, there are three observations. Now at this point in the timeline of the church of Antioch, she is a congregation just a year old. And already, there are leaders here in the church. There were prophets, which one definition is someone who speaks the words of God, such as I am doing right now. I am being a prophet because I am telling you what the Word says. Maybe there were others who spoke for God as did Elisha and Isaiah and Jeremiah.

But not all churches are like Antioch with growing in their faith in Jesus. Today, we can see many churches meeting together, but that’s all they do. They are content with it. These churches, I would say are idle churches, kind of like the church of Laodicea. Neither hot nor cold. But then a church that is cold, I suspect is one that rejects the Bible because it is politically correct. But a church of apathy? The writer of Hebrews had that the readers should themselves be teachers of the faith, but yet they are still no further along than a baby. In Hebrews 5.11-14, the writer is chastising them for not growing up. It is an expectation. It is implied when Jesus told the disciples to teach the new disciples to obey everything they were taught by Jesus.

Now this maturity came from their spiritual discipline. Here we see as they are sending out men for spreading the good news, which is the first missionary journey in the Bible, they fasted and prayed. Now of this, perhaps we are good at praying. But I don’t want to venture there, lest we be called on it. I can’t help but think that Paul was at the prayer meeting at John Mark’s mother’s house. If Paul’s prayer life was in a state of flux, I suspect each of our prayer life is in flux. There is always room for improvement.

And though this prayer is a spiritual discipline, it is more than that. First it’s not commanded. Nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to pray. The closest the Law comes to commanding that you pray is “when you pray”. It is assumed that we pray. How else are we to communicate to and with God our Father? Fasting is also another assumptive discipline. It’s never commanded of God’s children. I wonder though if their prayer time was so fervent that that’s when fasting occurred. It wasn’t some ritual that Jesus warned against in the sermon on the mount.  But do we get so wrapped up that we forget the time and find that we have missed meals?  Was this the fasting that happened before the first crew was sent out to spread the good news?

The implication is clear though. How seriously do we take our time that we talk to our Heavenly Father? How often do we get so wrapped up hours pass instead of minutes, or how important do we view this? God, thanks for the grub. Is that all we have to say to our father, who adopted us, who gave us purpose?

Finally, they were able to discern God’s will. They were sensitive to His leading. Set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work I have ready.” How often do we really rely upon God to lead us? Yes, he gives us freewill, but he also gives us direction. He doesn’t force us to take a path. He just tells us there it is. And yet, as we think we are hearing God’s voice, we need to make sure that God is indeed guiding us. He is not the only spiritual entity. There is also His angels and then Satan and his angels. They can all sound good. That is why they fasted and prayed. They wanted to make sure that their main leaders were indeed being called out.

Too many times, can you count them, when I have heard, “Well the Lord told me to do this.” I had people come to me and tell me that what they were doing was in accordance to God’s will.  I sit back and ask, really? God wanted you to cheat your neighbor. In order to discern God’s leading, we must be striving to grow, to practice our spiritual disciplines. We are at a critical time, not just Central, but the church in general. Too long have we had it easy. That time is changing with each additional day passing.

As for Central, it isn’t too late. The work of sharing the news is harder because it falls on more shoulders. But God did promise to give us all that we need to carry out the mission, at least that’s the promise in 1 Cor. 1.5-7.