After 5 weeks and 4500 miles, can I just say, in the words of John Denver, "Hey, it's good to be back home again"!!!
Of course, my sabbatical does not wind up until August 15th, which is a good thing, because I have a number of books yet to read. And I will enjoy the opportunity, in the coming weeks, to worship in some of our neighboring churches with fellow followers of Christ. But I can wholeheartedly say that I am so excited to return to the fellowship of Renton Bible Church. And I cannot wait to share with you, from the pulpit, some of the many fruits I have already enjoyed from this time of Sabbath.
However, I am thankful for this blog which provides me with the opportunity to share some of the fruit as I am enjoying it. In these last three days, I have read a book a day. But one of the books, in particular, I felt would be especially beneficial to share with all of you is Mark Dever's, What is a Healthy Church?
This book is a relatively small and simple one, however, the question it asks is significant for us as followers of Jesus Christ. When we receive the gift of the forgiveness of our sins we not only enter into a relationship with our God, we also enter into a relationship with His family-the church. And Jesus clearly revealed that it was through us, as His church, that His message of life and hope would continue to go out into "Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). (I cannot wait to jump into a new sermon series on the book of Acts this fall!)
Because the job Jesus has given is so important, to become and make more fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ (Matt 28:18-20), it is equally important that we continually consider our health as a church. But, the truth is, there are many different ideas out there as to what it means for a church to be healthy. Some would define health in terms of whether or not a church is meeting my personal needs. Some might look at the financial bottom line. Certainly, attendance is an often considered factor in measuring the health of a church. Along with these you could add worship style, activities, and the list goes on.
However, though each of the above areas are important, Dever's answer to this question turns more specifically to God's Word for what it means to be a healthy church. From Dever's perspective, the health of a church is most significantly measured by the Bible. And it is a focus on God's Word that we find in his nine marks of a healthy church:
1. Expositional Preaching;
2. Biblical Theology;
3. A Biblical Understanding of the Good News;
4. A Biblical Understanding of Conversion;
5. A Biblical Understanding of Evangelism;
6. A Biblical Understanding of Membership;
7. Biblical Church Discipline;
8. Biblical Discipleship and Growth and
9. Biblical Church Leadership.
As I read Dever's discussion on each of these topics, I was so encouraged by what God has done at Renton Bible Church. I am thankful for the level of health in our body.
And yet, I was also challenged for our need to continue to strive to be the church God has called us to be. As Dever states, "Friend, the church finds its life as it listens to the Word of God. It finds its purpose as it lives out and displays the Word of God.... That's it. The primary challenge churches face today is not figuring out how to be 'relevant' or 'strategic' or 'sensitive' or even 'deliberate.' It's figuring out how to be faithful-how to listen, how to trust and obey.'" Of course, we will continue to work on being relevant, sensitive, etc., but my greatest prayer is that we will continue to grow in living out the Word of God in our community and in our world.