"Hand me a brick," the Mason said to the Apprentice. The young man reached over to the diminished pile and palmed the nearest brick. With a sigh, he handed the last piece of the puzzle to the Mason. The Mason balanced the brick beside his muddied trowel and hoisted a battered bucket of gray cement to the top of the retaining wall. With a smile, he applied the last of the cement to the last hole in which the last brick would be placed to complete the last wall of the garden. After the grooves were cleaned and the brick squared, the Mason looked down on his weary apprentice and said with the swelled-chest of satisfaction, "We did it."
"Yes, you did" replied the Apprentice. "Yes you did."
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
and he gave gifts to men.”
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for works of service for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
I have been the prideful, selfish Mason.
And I have been doing it all wrong.
Maybe I'll put more up later.
Peace to all brothers in the Year of our Lord 2007.
17 comments:
Hi Jason,
When I read that passage and look at the local congregations where I've fellowshipped I see a huge difference. The congregations of which I've been a part have a few people doing everything while the rest simply fill the pews. Is the problem with the teachers? Or the saints? Or both? Perhaps Paul is painting a picture of the ideal situation that should exists and that we should strive for. A church that is rooted in the Word ... A church that speaks the truth in love ... A church that grows up in Jesus ... A church that builds itself up in love ... A church where each one does its work ... A mature church.
Sign me up. And how do we build such a church by the grace of God? Well, let's start with ourselves. Those of us who teach, let's teach in such a way that the people of God are prepared for works of service/ministry. And those of us who are taught should fill our minds with the Word so that we can along with those who teach reach a unity in the faith and knowledge of Jesus and become mature. And a growth in knowledge will also be accompanied by a growth in service. A mature church hungers for a greater knowledge of God and a greater opportunity for service. Not one or the other but both. Knowledge of God fuels ministry and ministry grows out of a knowledge of God.
Enough said about Ephesians 4. Your in my prayers. Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is GOD who works in you both to will and do according to His purpose.
Love you
Hey John,
I can't help but think of myself...else...how will I treat others as I want to be treated?
:)
These are some more thoughts.
I was sitting in one of the weekly studies, looking at the smiling faces. Faces of real people. Real believers. I had a thought; maybe two:
What am I doing here?
What is the purpose of all this?
Why does the teacher teach?
Why does the preacher preach?
When are these guys going to "graduate"?
Is there an end in sight?
What are they supposed to do with this knowledge?
Hell, what am I supposed to do with it?
Its not that I don't know the answer to these questions, its that the answer is consumed in observable, trackable practice and progress not just fact regurgitation and hermeneutics. Why is it that my teaching does not move people to build? To love in deed? To function as a working joint? Why is it that my teaching is lulling people to sleep instead of action?
I realize that ultimately the responsibility is not on the expositor but I can't help but notice that I lack that sharply defined purpose that I see in Eph 4 and more importantly the purpose I see in Jesus' teaching.
I think I have just marched right out to say something rather than considering the purpose of the speaking.
"To Glorify God" is too vague of a purpose for me anymore.
"...And a growth in knowledge will also be accompanied by a growth in service. A mature church hungers for a greater knowledge of God and a greater opportunity for service. Not one or the other but both. Knowledge of God fuels ministry and ministry grows out of a knowledge of God...."
Well said, Sean. Well said.
If only I didn't have on these stupid "realism" glasses.
Actually, you did say "a mature church."
True nuff.
I just completed an interesting exercise. Use a "red letter" Bible and read the words of Jesus. Consider: "what is He trying to get the people to do?"
I am moving through the Epistles now...asking the same question.
Very enlightening.
What am I doing here?
What is the purpose of all this?
Why does the teacher teach?
Why does the preacher preach?
When are these guys going to "graduate"?
Is there an end in sight?
What are they supposed to do with this knowledge?
What am I supposed to do with it?
Who hasn't asked these questions as a teacher? I can only think of my time in Mossel Bay, Cape Town, or even Whiteface and wonder about the effectiveness of the teacher and his teaching. Then I'm reminded of Paul's words in another place when he talks of building. In 1 Cor.3:10ff he speaks of being a master builder, laying the foundation (Christ, of course) and someone else building on it. Then he changes the picture from architecture to agriculture in 1 Cor.3:5-9. The point that I want to stress is that "neither the one who plants or the one who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow." Thank you John for the reminder that humility is at the heart of Christian ministry. It is not our work, it is not our responsibility to make the body grow or serve. That is God's work. So what do we do? We continue to teach, admonish, rebuke, comfort (all with the Word) and we watch God's Spirit transform lives before our eyes.
This knowledge makes it easier (not easy) for us to do our work of teaching/preaching.
God bless and a happy new year.
I would liek you to elaborate on what you (think) you have been doing all wrong. Is this methode, pride itself, or ???
Dear Anon,
I would be happy to elaborate on what I think I have been doing wrong, but being that the anonymous folks often take potshots at my blog -I won't.
If you are forthcoming with who you are - I will also be forthcoming.
Peace
You opened topic - expound or don't. Its hard to comment on ambiguity.
BTW there is a setting in blogger to disallow all anonymous comments.
I have Anonymous Posting active because not everyone who plays around here has a Blogger account... or wants one. :)
My blog is more-or-less a private blog. I don't make it public or wish it to be so. It is just a place for me to communicate a bit with my brothers- a place to jot down some thoughts and have a few discussions.
If I want to put up ambiguous posts it is certainly my privilege.
By the same token, it is your privilege to remain in anonymity.
Generally speaking, I won't respond to those I don't know. I have neither the time nor the desire.
Good info. Privacy yours. Moving on. Hope the best. Best regards.
Yeah, anonymous posters are flippin' irritating. Bunch of sneaky snipers, they are.
But if you're being prideful and selfish and are doing it all wrong, then stop it. i mean, good grief man! Grow up.
Ok, that last post was me being funny. i do wonder, though, what you'd do instead. i mean, if you really are being prideful and selfish in what you're doing, then that's one thing (although i sho 'nuff ain't got a stone to throw), but if you're saying it's prideful and selfish because you're doing most of the work, or feel unevenly yoked, or are somehow not allowing others to do "their share"... well i'm not sure that's right on. i, of course don't know your heart or motives. But speaking as a shiftless slacker who's spent an inordinate amount of my life as an apprentice watching other folks do most of the work in the church, i'll take exception to yer claim.
i've walked around in the church like a chicken with my head 360'd for two main reasons.
1) Most of the things the clergy/ semi-clergy tend to busy themselves with, get ink in the church bulletin for, and generally want others to help them with are either plumb idiotic or are absurdly out of line with what their community and the real world around them actually needs. Take for example the church in the poorest part of a town with a huge university next door that consumes itself with shipping funds to and exchanging World Bible School (tm) correspondence with India. That kinda speaks for itself. Nothing wrong with helping folks in another country, but there's something fishy about evangelism that demands not more than 30 minutes a week after Worship Service (sm) is dismissed.
2) i'm basically a shy, passive person, and i usually feel less equipped to do the work that the go-getters are doing, and, if not ill-equipped, then uninvited. The problem is that that's not their fault. You can't serve the world with a "no christian left behind" policy. Not everyone is an eye or a hand in the body, as you know. Some of us are tendons to be stretched and hold the muscles on the bones, and some of us are fat cells born to keep pews from floating off into outer space. If you did church by my ideals, we'd all gather in the living room with a beer every night and talk about Heaven. Sounds good, but eventually i think you have to do something. You can't wait around on goofballs like me to get it done.
Point is, if you fault yourself for pride, that's a fine thing to change; but just because you're doing what you're doing pridefully doesn't mean that what you're doing is itself wrong. Also you can't judge what you're doing by how other people respond to it. For example, Jesus did all the work and people responded fairly negatively toward Him there at the end.
Two cents deposited.
Great comment, Cody. Excellent Points.(sm) I have to run to work now but I will jot down a few thoughts tonight.
Metaphorically speaking:
An elementary school teacher begins the year with a fine lesson. It goes so well, that she continues with the lessons day after day and month after month. The lessons are indeed fine lessons. Things which every elementary student should know at some point in their lives.
Finally comes The Day. The Day in the life of the teacher is that day in which her students take the Test - a test of skills. Each of her students take their No. 2 pencils and read through the questions and darken the appropriate circle on the Scantron. A month later, the Results come back. Each student in her class has failed.
Why did they fail? Was it because the Teacher was not a teacher? Or because the students were not really students? Or was it because the teacher was not really teaching? No, not at all. They were surely students. She was certainly a teacher. The students did learn something new, day after day and month after month. Alas, failure came because the students did not learn what they were supposed to learn.
Every school lays out certain educational objectives based on State requirements. These objectives serve to shape and form the school's curriculum. This curriculum structures what is taught in the classroom. It will never do for the teacher to ignore the state, or the administration or the curriculum. These things give a purpose and direction to her teaching.
I think this sums up what I have been doing (in large part) over the years. What we have in Ephesians 4 is a small phrase - for the building up of the saints for works of service - which serves to give purpose and direction to the work of the teacher. I have found myself teaching whatever I damn well please, whenever I please. I have taken it seriously to be sure. I have studied. I have prepared. I have prayed. However, I feel that the focus (purpose) was wrong. I am quite certain that God will use and has used what I have said from my various "pulpits" but I wonder if have ever really seriously considered heaven's educational objectives!
Pride and selfishness enter into the equation at different levels. I can always argue from ignorance in some areas, right? But why would I ever be content with just giving a well-formed message? Why would I ever be satisfied just to let people hear? We don't do that with our children. I have seriously been content with just saying what's on my mind. There is a very good, almost drug-like feeling that comes from preaching and teaching. Endorphins maybe. Your heart is pumping, your blood's moving, you're sweating a bit under the arms. But more than that, your heart and spirit feel good at teaching about Jesus. But what about the other folks in the body? Will they ever experience that high (or conversely, the low)? Its not that I have been "doing it all myself." I am not so naive to believe that happens anyway. Its that I have not really cared to KNOW whether people are maturing or not. I have NOT worked, taught and preached to that end - the building up of the saints for service. I have only just said a few things here and there. In my heart, I believe it to be pride, selfishness and in many cases, a lack of love.
It eats at the heart of every school teacher to see her students pass their tests. No child left behind. :)
Why does that not burden me more in regards to the body? Truth is, I don't care.
Done dumping.
O Great & Effulgent Teacher of "Things Needing To Be Taught":
i spoke for a bit with homeboy Katinga yester's e'entide, and we discussed some of yer points. He's convinced that yer soul is lost and you're on yer way to hell, whereas i tried to come up with some way that you might be saved anyway.
That's not exactly accurate, but it was an interesting talk-- the destination of yer soul notwithstanding. i come from the perspective of one who is no teacher (mostly 'cuz of the somnolent effect i have on the unlucky suckers that get stuck in the same room with me when i do get preachy and are too tactful to just walk out). Sean, of course, just preaches mercilessly to anyone within earshot. our conversation led to the following totally obvious, yet germane question, which i'd like you to field: Where does the teacher's responsibility to teach end and the hearer's to go and do begin? At what point is the watchman's duty discharged?
How deep into the lives and hearts of the listeners is the teacher obligated to dig in order to find the right subject matter that might stimulate them to grow?
Hi Cody and Sean (though Sean would shrink from labeling me "effulgent"),
My wife asked me some of the same questions. I think "how far" is not an extremely fair question. For instance, how far are you willing to go to protect your daughters? Perty dadgum fer, I would imagine. :)
I am on the clock now, so I won't abuse my privilege . However, take a look at one of my favorite passages in Acts. It tells me "how far."
Acts 20:17-36
From Miletus he had the presbyters of the church at Ephesus summoned.When they came to him, he addressed them, "You know how I lived among you the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia. I served the Lord with all humility and with the tears and trials that came to me because of the plots of the Jews, and I did not at all shrink from telling you what was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public or in your homes.I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know,except that in one city after another the holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me. Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of God's grace. But now I know that none of you to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels will ever see my face again. And so I solemnly declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God.
Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock.And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them.
So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears. And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated.I have never wanted anyone's silver or gold or clothing.You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions. In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" When he had finished speaking he knelt down and prayed with them all.
Yeah. Yeah.
i had some sneaking suspicions about that.
Well, for whatever my cheering is worth to you, i'd like to thank you for being hard on yourself, and i'd like to encourage you not to fail in being even harder on yourself. i pray for you that you'll keep being broken down and built back up out of better stuff so you'll be even better and more diligent at breaking down and building up.
Love you bro.
Great and Effulgent Teacher ... Jason Ward.
See there ... I concur with the great philosopher.
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