QC and SG accountability (21/2/20)
Winnie shared about Francis Chan's book (Letters to the Church) in which he wrote about his hopes for the church he founded, his leaving it to go to Asia, then his return to the USA. This invited questions about the topics of division and leadership in church.
1 Cor 1:10, 12:25 encourage the church not to have divisions. Paul rebukes the Corinthians for their factionalism and tendency to idolize human figures (1 Cor 1:12; 3:4) and yet he speaks approvingly about divisions in 11:18-19. How do we recognize 'good' and 'bad' division?
My thinking is that division in church is good rather like church discipline is good - in other words, the need for it is a reflection of impurity in the church that must be addressed, so that those who are genuine/tested in the faith might be separated from those that are not. It is God's general will that t4he church not be divided.
We also spoke about the importance of plural leadership in church (see here). There is the negative example of a single very influential (and unspiritual) leader in the NT (Diotrephes in 3 Jn 1:9-10). Our local church has no single dominant figure prescribed by the Book of Discipline. Pastors and lay leaders are to work together in harmony, although the Pastor-in-charge is generally seen to be the spiritual leader of the congregation.
Was Paul a man who set himself against the authority of the apostles, and quarreled with Peter? We see in Ac 15 that he and Barnabas submitted themselves to the authority of the church in Jerusalem. In Gal 2:1-2 he makes it clear that he met privately with the apostles to make sure that his message to the Gentiles would be approved. In Gal 2:11-14 Paul opposes Peter most openly and strongly because he is fighting for the purity of the gospel - the issue is whether faith in Christ alone is enough for salvation, or whether it takes faith plus - plus following the Mosaic law, or anything else. Peter, who had a direct revelation from God (Ac 10-11) that it was right to eat with Gentiles, and who in Ac 15 in the Jerusalem council ( Ac 15:7-11) had spoken up to support freedom for the Gentiles, really should have known better. We know that Peter and Paul ended up still friends (2 Pe 3:15).
We noted videos where a certain pastor was teaching his congregation about the protection of God on them against getting infected by COVID-19. We look at Psalm 91 and wonder if this applies to us today. Winnie helpfully pointed us to this previous discussion. We do not claim promises made to the ancient nation of Israel. Also, God's promises of blessing, prosperity and health in the OT (e.g. in Proverbs) for the individual believer describe 1) the general way God deals with men, with obvious real-life exceptions 2) find the ultimate fulfillment in spiritual blessings (c.f. Lk 21:17-18).
1 Cor 1:10, 12:25 encourage the church not to have divisions. Paul rebukes the Corinthians for their factionalism and tendency to idolize human figures (1 Cor 1:12; 3:4) and yet he speaks approvingly about divisions in 11:18-19. How do we recognize 'good' and 'bad' division?
My thinking is that division in church is good rather like church discipline is good - in other words, the need for it is a reflection of impurity in the church that must be addressed, so that those who are genuine/tested in the faith might be separated from those that are not. It is God's general will that t4he church not be divided.
We also spoke about the importance of plural leadership in church (see here). There is the negative example of a single very influential (and unspiritual) leader in the NT (Diotrephes in 3 Jn 1:9-10). Our local church has no single dominant figure prescribed by the Book of Discipline. Pastors and lay leaders are to work together in harmony, although the Pastor-in-charge is generally seen to be the spiritual leader of the congregation.
Was Paul a man who set himself against the authority of the apostles, and quarreled with Peter? We see in Ac 15 that he and Barnabas submitted themselves to the authority of the church in Jerusalem. In Gal 2:1-2 he makes it clear that he met privately with the apostles to make sure that his message to the Gentiles would be approved. In Gal 2:11-14 Paul opposes Peter most openly and strongly because he is fighting for the purity of the gospel - the issue is whether faith in Christ alone is enough for salvation, or whether it takes faith plus - plus following the Mosaic law, or anything else. Peter, who had a direct revelation from God (Ac 10-11) that it was right to eat with Gentiles, and who in Ac 15 in the Jerusalem council ( Ac 15:7-11) had spoken up to support freedom for the Gentiles, really should have known better. We know that Peter and Paul ended up still friends (2 Pe 3:15).
We noted videos where a certain pastor was teaching his congregation about the protection of God on them against getting infected by COVID-19. We look at Psalm 91 and wonder if this applies to us today. Winnie helpfully pointed us to this previous discussion. We do not claim promises made to the ancient nation of Israel. Also, God's promises of blessing, prosperity and health in the OT (e.g. in Proverbs) for the individual believer describe 1) the general way God deals with men, with obvious real-life exceptions 2) find the ultimate fulfillment in spiritual blessings (c.f. Lk 21:17-18).
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