Felicity Dale recently shared a post entitled What in the world is God up to? on her blog Simply Church. With the media political viewpoint on events in today's world we often do not see or hear about what God is doing in the midst of the nations. With Felicity's permission I reprint her encouraging post below.
There are probably more Christians in China now than members of the Communist Party.
In Asia, the T4T training has resulted in more than 1.7 million baptisms over the past 10 years.
In India, a Hindu nation, one house church network with which I am familiar, is seeing around one million baptisms per year.
Now seems to be God’s time for the Muslim world. In one nation we know, there are thousands of house churches. In another area of the Middle East, there is a movement that has more than 12,000 house churches.
A Buddhist nation has seen more than 110,000 new believers in the past 10 years.
In 1991, when the Communists lost control of Mongolia, there were maybe 4 or 5 known Christians. Estimates are that now, just over 20 years later, there are around 100,000.
In Africa, Rolland and Heidi Baker have seen more than 10,000 new churches formed in Mozambique and the surrounding nations.
A few years ago, all of this would have seemed impossible. We may not be seeing huge numbers here in the West, but God is on the move in much of the rest of the world. Most (not all) the examples I’ve given here have occurred with disciple making movements/church planting movements. In these movements, the emphasis is on what is going on outside of the traditional church building. Ordinary believers are making disciples and leading small groups that eventually meet as churches.
I know that numbers are not everything, but they are an indication of what God is up to. Several years ago, Wolfgang Simson did a survey of the largest churches in the world. If you include networks of churches that meet in homes, then numbers one through 19 are networks of house churches and number 20, at the time of his survey, was Paul Yonggi Cho’s church in Seoul, Korea.
Throughout the world, God is using ordinary people—just like you—to start churches. What is there to stop you doing the same?
A continuación una lista completa de todos los pasajes en el libro de Los Hechos que hablan del bautismo.
Al estudiar los pasajes haga las siguientes preguntas...
¿Cuándo fueron bautizados?
¿Cuál era el requisito para ser bautizado?
¿Quién bautizó?
¿Cuanto tiempo pasó en cada caso entre el haber creido y el haber sido bautizado?
En estos pasajes, qué es más importante, ¿la persona quién bautiza, o el nombre en quién se bautiza?
Según los pasajes arriba, ¿cuándo sería un caso cuando un pecador se arrepiente y NO se le debería bautizar?
¿Qué podemos aprender en cuanto al bautismo de la iglesia del primer siglo?
¿Tenemos el derecho de imponer otras prácticas o impedimentos al bautismo a las que se observan aquí en estos pasajes del libro de los Hechos, la Palabra de Dios?
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Hechos 2:36-41 Sepa, pues, con certeza toda la casa de Israel, que a este Jesús a quien vosotros crucificasteis, Dios le ha hecho Señor y Cristo. Al oír esto, compungidos de corazón, dijeron a Pedro y a los demás apóstoles: Hermanos, ¿qué haremos? Y Pedro les dijo: Arrepentíos y sed bautizados cada uno de vosotros en el nombre de Jesucristo para perdón de vuestros pecados, y recibiréis el don del Espíritu Santo. Porque la promesa es para vosotros y para vuestros hijos y para todos los que están lejos, para tantos como el Señor nuestro Dios llame. Y con muchas otras palabras testificaba solemnemente y les exhortaba diciendo: Sed salvos de esta perversa generación. Entonces los que habían recibido su palabra fueron bautizados; y se añadieron aquel día como tres mil almas.
8:9-13 Y cierto hombre llamado Simón, hacía tiempo que estaba ejerciendo la magia en la ciudad y asombrando a la gente de Samaria, pretendiendo ser un gran personaje ; y todos, desde el menor hasta el mayor, le prestaban atención, diciendo: Este es el que se llama el Gran Poder de Dios. Le prestaban atención porque por mucho tiempo los había asombrado con sus artes mágicas. Pero cuando creyeron a Felipe, que anunciaba las buenas nuevas del reino de Dios y el nombre de Cristo Jesús, se bautizaban, tanto hombres como mujeres. Y aun Simón mismo creyó; y después de bautizarse, continuó con Felipe, y estaba atónito al ver las señales y los grandes milagros que se hacían.
8:34-39 El eunuco respondió a Felipe y dijo: Te ruego que me digas, ¿de quién dice esto el profeta? ¿De sí mismo, o de algún otro? Entonces Felipe abrió su boca, y comenzando desde esta Escritura, le anunció el evangelio de Jesús. Yendo por el camino, llegaron a un lugar donde había agua; y el eunuco dijo*: Mira, agua. ¿Qué impide que yo sea bautizado? Y Felipe dijo: Si crees con todo tu corazón, puedes. Respondió él y dijo: Creo que Jesucristo es el Hijo de Dios.Y mandó parar el carruaje; ambos descendieron al agua, Felipe y el eunuco, y lo bautizó. Al salir ellos del agua, el Espíritu del Señor arrebató a Felipe; y no lo vio más el eunuco, que continuó su camino gozoso.
9:17-18 Ananías fue y entró en la casa, y después de poner las manos sobre él, dijo: Hermano Saulo, el Señor Jesús, que se te apareció en el camino por donde venías, me ha enviado para que recobres la vista y seas lleno del Espíritu Santo. Al instante cayeron de sus ojos como unas escamas, y recobró la vista; y se levantó y fue bautizado.
10:44-48 Mientras Pedro aún hablaba estas palabras, el Espíritu Santo cayó sobre todos los que escuchaban el mensaje. Y todos los creyentes que eran de la circuncisión, que habían venido con Pedro, se quedaron asombrados, porque el don del Espíritu Santo había sido derramado también sobre los gentiles, pues les oían hablar en lenguas y exaltar a Dios. Entonces Pedro dijo: ¿Puede acaso alguien negar el agua para que sean bautizados éstos que han recibido el Espíritu Santo lo mismo que nosotros? Y mandó que fueran bautizados en el nombre de Jesucristo. Entonces le pidieron que se quedara con ellos unos días.
16:13-15 Y en el día de reposo salimos fuera de la puerta, a la orilla de un río, donde pensábamos que habría un lugar de oración; nos sentamos y comenzamos a hablar a las mujeres que se habían reunido. Y estaba escuchando cierta mujer llamada Lidia, de la ciudad de Tiatira, vendedora de telas de púrpura, que adoraba a Dios; y el Señor abrió su corazón para que recibiera lo que Pablo decía. Cuando ella y su familia se bautizaron, nos rogó, diciendo: Si juzgáis que soy fiel al Señor, venid a mi casa y quedaos en ella. Y nos persuadió a ir.
16:29-34 Entonces él pidió luz y se precipitó adentro, y temblando, se postró ante Pablo y Silas, y después de sacarlos, dijo: Señores, ¿qué debo hacer para ser salvo? Ellos respondieron: Cree en el Señor Jesús, y serás salvo, tú y toda tu casa. Y le hablaron la palabra del Señor a él y a todos los que estaban en su casa. Y él los tomó en aquella misma hora de la noche, y les lavó las heridas; enseguida fue bautizado, él y todos los suyos. Llevándolos a su hogar, les dio de comer, y se regocijó grandemente por haber creído en Dios con todos los suyos.
18:7-8 Y partiendo de allí, se fue a la casa de un hombre llamado Ticio Justo, que adoraba a Dios, cuya casa estaba junto a la sinagoga. Y Crispo, el oficial de la sinagoga, creyó en el Señor con toda su casa, y muchos de los corintios, al oír, creían y eran bautizados.
19:1-7 Y aconteció que mientras Apolos estaba en Corinto, Pablo, habiendo recorrido las regiones superiores, llegó a Efeso y encontró a algunos discípulos, y les dijo: ¿Recibisteis el Espíritu Santo cuando creísteis? Y ellos le respondieron: No, ni siquiera hemos oído si hay un Espíritu Santo. Entonces él dijo: ¿En qué bautismo, pues, fuisteis bautizados? Ellos contestaron: En el bautismo de Juan. Y Pablo dijo: Juan bautizó con el bautismo de arrepentimiento, diciendo al pueblo que creyeran en aquel que vendría después de él, es decir, en Jesús. Cuando oyeron esto, fueron bautizados en el nombre del Señor Jesús. Y cuando Pablo les impuso las manos, vino sobre ellos el Espíritu Santo, y hablaban en lenguas y profetizaban. Eran en total unos doce hombres.
If simple churches are usually led by non-professional "lay" leaders, who performs all of the ceremonies traditionally officiated by professional clergy? Who does the baptizing, serving of the Lord's Supper, funerals, weddings, and all the other duties traditionally done by ordained ministers? Who do you call when there is a death in the family? Can anyone baptize (women?) Who presides over the Lord's Supper? Can any believer marry a couple?
I have no problem answering these questions, but as part of my answer, where do we get the idea that only a certain class can carry out these functions? Can any of us point to a single instance in the NT where any of these functions is designated as exclusive terrain of a chosen few? Is it a commandment or an ordinance that only trained, seminary educated, ordained ministers be the ones to baptize, serve the Lord's Supper, wed, or bury? There is nothing wrong with them doing so, but are we not ALL Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a Chosen Race?
So, to the practical outworking of how these things are carried out in simple house church settings...
The short version is that we deal with each situation as it comes up. In other words we don't worry about things until they need to be dealt with. This usually entails sitting down and helping them understand what God wants them to do in this situation. Sometimes they come right out and ask us to lead the ceremony. Often I will agree to do so this first occasion, but next time it is their responsibility. I view these opportunities to further train and orient the servant leaders by their watching me do it.
Baptism. We don't make a big deal over who does the baptizing. Any disciple can baptize. In fact disciples are commanded to do so in Matthew 28:18-20. Usually the way this works is that the house church leader will do so themselves with one or two assistants from the church. If for whatever reason they are not able, or do not wish to do so, they find somebody else to do the baptizing. It's not so much WHO does the baptizing, as in WHOSE NAME they are baptized.
The Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is a meal and regularly observed by the house churches. It is carried out in any number of different ways. One way is, again, to model how it is done. Many times when a group of new believers is ready for their first Lord's Supper, they will invite one of their mentors to preside. We gladly do so as a means of modeling a way of how it can be done. What is scary is that however we choose to lead during this time is often copied from there on out as "the way" to do the Lord's Supper! Over the years, though, I have seen a lot of creative and meaningful ways to celebrate this memorial.
Weddings. We have had many house church weddings over the past few years. Each has been special and meaningful to not only those getting married, but a blessing to the church as a whole. Sometimes I have been asked to perform the wedding, and have done so gladly. Usually though I will only perform the first wedding in a house church, but expect them to do any subsequent weddings. Sometimes the couple getting married will specifically ask their house church leader to do the ceremony. In these cases--and there have been several--the leader will come asking for help. We will sit down and step by step go over what needs to be done. We practice until they are fairly confident. It is important that the servant leaders be seen as empowered to carry out ALL the necessary tasks involved in church life. If we somehow leave the impression that only ordained pastors and missionaries can fill certain roles, we will harm the church's natural development. The last thing we want to do is create dependency upon the missionary.
Funerals. Again, we will go over with the house church leaders a basic outline of the kinds of things to say and do at a funeral. I remember one house church leader being asked to preside over a wake. She had absolutely no experience or background to do so. In a panic she called several people to come to the rescue. None were available so she prayed to the Lord for guidance and went on to the wake. There, she was able to minister in the power of the Holy Spirit, and was a great blessing to the family. She related that it wasn't that hard. It was just a matter of allowing the Spirit of God freedom to minister through her. She related they sang a few songs, she shared a passage of Scripture and a few words of comfort, the family shared their memories of the loved one, prays were said, and then she visited with the family.
The list really extends to many other natural church life functions as well. Praying for the sick, dealing with demons, counseling, baby dedications, home visits, anniversaries, birthday parties, etc. NONE of these are the exclusive domain of professional clergy. ALL are matters which normally should be carried out by Spirit-filled disciples. It is not about us and how highly trained we are, but about HIM and what He wants to do in and through us.
A few months ago, Victor Choudhrie emailed me a MS-Word copy of his "Mega Church To Mini Church: 25 Steps to Transit from Being Barren to a Millionaire of Souls." This document outlines key steps in how their team and network of house churches was able to baptize well over 1,000,000 people in a single year (2010). Some of what Victor shares may not resonate well with someone entrenched in contemporary traditional church values and methods, but anyone baptizing a million people in a single year certainly has my attention--can you think of anybody else in history who has even come close to this kind of fruitful ministry?
What follows are the first ten of his twenty-five steps:
1. Shift from church
culture to kingdom culture. Yeshua came preaching the Kingdom and commanded
us to preach the gospel of the Kingdom in all the world. The church is only a
vehicle for advancing the Kingdom, demonstrated by transformed communities. If
it is not advancing the Kingdom wherever its members are scattered in the city,
among the lost, then it is preaching “another gospel.”
2. Move from corporatized and capitalized temples to gathering in simple
organic ‘houses of peace’, which are New Testament based, kingdom oriented,
customizable, effective, productive and free. ‘God does not dwell in temples made with human hands’; rather He
dwells in human hearts. You are the mobile walking and talking temples of the
living God, with a maximum of organism and a minimum of organization.
3. Phase out programmed
Sunday ‘services’ while actualizing informal, small interactive gatherings.
The Bride of Christ must have intimacy with her Lord every day, not only for a
couple of hours a week, lest she become unfaithful...Every
Christian home must be the center of vibrant spirituality and the church exists
to restore that reality and not replace it. If Christian families and their
churches understood and implemented this simple concept, the ends of the earth
would be reached in no time at all.
4. Replace legalistic tithing
with extravagant sharing. Tithe was never cash but always “food” to be eaten;
the firstling of animals, corn, first fruits, wine and oil etc. Even if you
came from a long distance, you still had to buy an animal at the local cattle
market as gold or silver coins could not be offered at the altar for atonement.
In today’s economy, gifts and offerings can be in cash or kind, but must be offered
at the apostles’ feet for the apostolic agenda of the church and not for
constructing buildings or other extra-biblical programs. Tithe is now “Breaking
bread from house to house” and eaten with gladness of heart to multiply
Messiah, the bread of life that came down from heaven.
5. Demythologize wafer-and-sip
sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and instead promote breaking of bread with simple
Agape meals (love feasts) from house to house, that believers take with glad
hearts, ‘and the Lord added to His
numbers daily’. The Lord served roast lamb, bitter herb, bread and wine,
not in a synagogue but ‘in a house’ for the Last Supper...The greatest sin of the church is to keep you blind and ignorant about
your authority, rights, privileges and responsibilities as a priest to your
family and a royal priest to the nations, thus degrading you into a
non-functional Christian.
6. Replace professional
music with speaking to each other in psalms and spiritual songs, making
melody in your hearts; “Let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to
the Lord.” The church is a discipling hub and not a singing club...On The
Pentecost, the birthday of the church, worship took place in a house and not
the temple, with the Sword (Word of God by Peter); the Fire (Holy Spirit) and three
thousand souls offered up as a living Sacrifice...Worship in truth and spirit is no longer confined to the
temple but anyplace, where you make disciples.
7. Shift from being a spectator-oriented
church to an interactive, participatory, gender-neutral prophetic church,
where everyone can share a psalm, a doctrine, a revelation, a tongue, a
testimony, a dream or a vision. Like Yeshua, find Samaritan women and demonized
Gadarenes, detoxicate and dispatch them as workplace apostles (sent ones) from
day one. The dragon is now driving the world by default because 99.9 percent of
sincere Christians are sincerely incompetent to disciple anyone in their work
places. Maximize ordinary believers into champion spiritual warfare warriors using
their gifts and talents to dethrone the enemy off the dragon land and populate
it with the saints of the Most High God.
8. Your Lord did not preach
from the same pulpit twice. Why should you? Especially as 300,000 people
die every day worldwide, most of them into Christless eternity. Yeshua came to
seek and to save the lost. Are you proactively seeking and saving the lost? If
not, why not; when there are tens of millions that have yet to hear the gospel
for the first time? After three months of fruitless exhortations in the
synagogue, Paul shifted into the hall of Tyrannous in the market place, put on
his working apron, crafted tents to earn his living, as he taught his twelve
Ephesian disciples, as well as his clients, the itinerant nomads, and all Asia
heard the gospel.
9. Do not appoint
Elders who do not have the tools to convict peoples of other faiths in
their tool boxes, nor send theologians with academic tags as missionaries for
they know not how to make disciples. They are trained to be aquarium keepers
but God is looking for those who multiply their fishes. It is not the content of
the sermon but its practical application that creates the movement. Just like
fishing, discipling is a skill. Yeshua said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Being a follower of
Christ (faithful member of a church) is not enough; you must become a prolific fisher
of men.
10. Empower Women - Mary of Magdala, a redeemed sinner, was the first
apostle (sent one) to the apostles. Priscilla, Phoebe, Lydia, Apphia, Nympha
and host of other women were apostles, prophets, teachers and house church
facilitators. Paul never asked women (gune)
to keep their mouths shut, he only asked wives (gune) not to embarrass their husbands (aner) in public but to ask them questions at home.He encouraged everyone, men and women
to share psalms, teachings, revelations,
testimonies and prophesy.” Yeshua’s blood removes the curse of Eve.
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
The Great Commission is surely one of the most most talked about, yet least practiced passages of Scripture.
Why do I say this?
Because of its familiarity. Most of us just assume that what we and our church are doing is fulfilling the Great Commission.
But is it?
The reason this passage can be such a stumbling block is that we do a lot of talking about and believe these words, but when it comes to putting them into practice, we end up doing something entirely different from what Jesus originally commanded. We read these verses one way, but practice them another.
Here is how many believers today interpret Jesus' words...
JESUS SAID: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
HOW WE ACTUALLY PUT THIS INTO PRACTICE: All authority has been given to to our pastor/denomination/church. These are our spiritual guides (covering). What they have to say weighs more in what we do (or not do), than what Jesus commanded. Permission to engage in the GC must first come from our leaders. Jesus is not sufficiently authoritative by himself.
JESUS SAID: Therefore, GO...
HOW WE ACTUALLY PRACTICE THIS COMMAND: We understand "go" to meancome. Come to our church, youth group, event, concert, etc. Come is a lot more convenient for us than actually trying to find the time to go and engage relationally those who are lost and need the Good News. We go on mission trips, go to camp, go to conferences and concerts with high-profile Christian mega-stars, etc. The lost are expected to somehow find their way to us. They are supposed to come to our meetings and events planned for them. For the occasional permission granted to actually GO, those going are expected to bring home with them any who might respond. We can't have believers out there "doing their own thing" and starting "splinter churches." Real church is "mama church."
JESUS SAID:MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations...
HOW WE ACTUALLY PRACTICE THIS COMMAND: Since we really do not know how to make disciples, we believe that what this means is that they need to hear the Gospel. Therefore, we focus on evangelistic events and invite people to pray and receive Christ. Church sports activities, Fall Festivals, youth car washes, Christmas pageants, and musical concerts are understood to be the appropriate means to reach people. Those handful who might raise their hand at one of our events are given an envelope of church literature. But "make disciples" is understood to be that they will now start coming to our church. There they will meet other believers, and hopefully learn more about God's Word and somewhere along the path turn into disciples (whatever that is).
JESUS SAID:BAPTIZING them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...
HOW WE ACTUALLY PRACTICE THIS COMMAND: This certainly does not mean I should be the one to baptize the new believer. If someone makes a profession of faith, it is my responsibility to make an appointment and introduce them to the pastor of the church. There they will be, 1) warmly received, 2) invited to participate in a new believer's class to prepare them for baptism, 3) when there are enough ready to be baptized and there are no circumstances which would prevent them from being baptized, 4) schedule a date on the church calendar, and 5) watch as the pastor baptizes them as part of one of our regular scheduled church services.
JESUS SAID:TEACHING THEM TO OBEYeverything I have commanded you...
HOW WE ACTUALLY PRACTICE THIS COMMAND: The newly baptized believer is then expected to begin attending church on a regular basis. There they observe how other Christians look, talk, and act. "Church Culture" is quickly assimilated about what is acceptable, and not acceptable. Basically it is understood that the new believer will learn God's Word through the listening of the weekly preaching of the pastor, and maybe if we can get them up early enough, a Sunday School class.
With this understanding of the Great Commission, is it any wonder people think we are controversial in our teaching? But I ask--JUST AS WE ASK THOSE WE TRAIN--did Jesus really mean what he said?
The LifeWay article reports a total of 332,321 baptisms from 45,727 churches. That comes out to an average of 7.3 baptisms per church per year, or a 49:1 baptism ratio. It took 49 S. Baptists an entire year of work and ministry to baptize one person.
Saying it another way, it took one disciple twelve months to see one new person added to the Kingdom through baptism, while the other 48 of us "disciples" did nothing. On top of that, the cost of that single baptism was $35,270!
I know many might point out the flaws in my over-generalized and unfair playing around with the reported numbers, but the figures speak loudly for themselves. For all our talk, we are not about making disciples of the nations.
The only number that did not show a negative from the previous year was church plants. According to the report, 717 new churches were started in 2010. From our own experience of seeing the vast majority of baptisms coming from new church starts; I dare say, without these 717 new church starts, the SBC numbers would have indeed fallen into the "F" range--failing big time at what our Lord commanded in Matthew 28:18-20.
While our own baptism ratio has fluctuated over the past decade from a high of 3:1 (three believers for every new baptized convert) to a low of an embarrasing 8:1 ratio, the fact remains that the house churches we relate to are far more serious about evangelism, baptism, discipleship, and church planting than our Stateside brothers and sisters. I have said it many times, but our people here have a lot more to teach their Stateside counterparts, than the other way around!
What differences are there between our Ecuadorian national brethren and their Stateside counterparts? Why are the folks here so much more effective with their evangelism than Stateside Christians?
I can identify at least seven overlapping things I see house church believers consistently doing that are not usually seen in most Stateside churches:
1) Praying daily for the lost. Talk to believers in a Guayaquil house church and they will show you their list of people they pray for daily of unsaved family, friends, and neighbors.
2) Active regular sharing of the Gospel. It is a very natural part of their Christian walk to share the Gospel with people they encounter in their daily lives. Christ has made such a difference in their lives, and they cannot help but share with those they come in contact with.
3) Planning regular evangelistic events. The house churches plan regular evangelistic events inviting those they are praying for to attend (concerts, outdoor street meetings, special programs, family conferences, DVD/Videos, invited guest speakers, neighborhood evangelistic door-to-door blitzes, meals, etc.)
4) Visiting the sick and personally ministering to lost friends, neighbors and family in times of crisis. They are very good about visiting sick people outside of their church family, praying for healing and ministering to lost family and friends during difficult times.
5) Not distracted by a lot of secondary theological issues. We certainly have our share of problems and distractions, but they are more along the lines of things like: can unmarried couples who get saved be baptized? How to counsel people with difficult problems? How to discern if someone is demon possessed or just emotionally unstable? How to handle tough theological questions. Why doesn't God always heal someone when they are prayed for?
6) Intentionally focus on evangelism as a life priority. Talk to them and they will tell you that their ministry is to win/disciple at least four people to Christ this year. They expect God to give them these souls and are consciously praying and working to achieve this goal.
7) They maintain friendships/relationships with lost friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. They play soccer on the street with their neighbors, visit them in their homes, minister to them in times of need. How are we ever supposed to win people to the Lord if we have little/no relationship with the lost? How is a Christian supposed to win lost people if they do not even know any? Folks here know plenty of lost people whom they are burdened for their salvation.
Southern Baptists, and Stateside churches in general may be doing a lot of neat things, have wonderful church programs, great worship services and solid Biblical preaching, but if we are not winning people to Christ, baptizing, making disciples, and teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded, are we really healthy N.T. churches?
What makes a Baptist a Baptist? Is it our traditions and practices? Our programs? Exactly what is it that determines if one is truly a Baptist or more identified with some other group of evangelical believers?
One of the earliest attempts to define who Baptists are is the London Baptist Confession 1644/1646. While too long to quote in its entirety, I pulled a few of the articles that caught my attention. As I read this document many of their original convictions mirror my own. After each article are my own comments in italics. Some of my observations are particular to our own context here in Ecuador and not necessarily issues in other parts of the world.
XXXVI.
BEING thus joined, every church hath power given them from Christ, for their wellbeing, to choose among themselves meet persons for elders and deacons, being qualified according to the word, as those which Christ hath appointed in His testament, for the feeding, governing, serving, and building up of His Church; and that none have any power to impose either these or any other. Acts 1:23,26,6:3,15:22.25; Rom.12:7,8; 1 Tim.3:2,6.7; 1 Cor. 12:8,28; Heb.13:7,17; 1 Pet.5:1,2,3, 4:15.
"...choose among themselves" seems to be the pattern of those early Baptists who preceded us. The current practice of importing trained professionals from outside the congregation seems foreign to the wording in this article. As is the idea of home-grown plural "elders and deacons" which is in contrast with the more common "Senior Pastor" model which seems to be the norm today.
XXXVII. THAT the ministers lawfully called, as aforesaid, ought to continue in their calling and place according to God's ordinance, and carefully to feed the flock of God committed to them, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Heb.5:4; John 10:3,4; Acts 20:28,29; Rom.12:7,8; Heb.13:7.17; 1 Pet.5: 1.2,3.
"...ought to continue in their calling and place..." means to me that if they are a school teacher, they are to continue in that profession and not abandon it for the ministry. Our modern idea of having full-time professional church ministers seems out of tune with this earlier confession of Baptist belief and practice.
XXXIX.
BAPTlSM is an ordinance of the New Testament, given by Christ, to be dispensed upon persons professing faith, or that are made disciples; who upon profession of faith, ought to be baptized, and after to partake of the Lord's Supper. Matt.28:18,19; John 4:1; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2:37.38, 8:36,37,etc.
"...to be dispensed upon persons professing faith..." is the only prerequisite for baptism. In many Baptist contexts, especially in Ecuador, other prerequisites are often added to that of "professing faith"--usually in the insistence that the person requesting baptism be legally married (not living in adultery/fornication) before consideration is given to their profession of faith.
XLI. THE person designed by Christ to dispense baptism, the Scripture holds forth to be a disciple; it being no where tied to a particular church officer, or person extraordinarily sent the commission enjoining the administration, being given to them as considered disciples, being men able to preach the gospel.Isa.8:16; Eph.2:7; Matt.28:19; John 4:2; Acts 20:7,11:10; 1 Cor.11:2, 10:16,17; Rom.16:2; Matt.18:17.
The administrator of baptism are disciples. No where in Scripture is baptism tied to a particular church office. Our modern practice (especially overseas where this is an issue) of only ordained, recognized church leaders being the only ones authorized to baptize seems to contradict not only our Baptist forefathers but Scripture itself.
XLII.
CHRIST hath likewise given power to His Church to receive in, and cast out, any member that deserves it; and this power is given to every congregation, and not to one particular person, either member or officer, but in relation to the whole body, in reference to their faith and fellowship. Rom.16:2; Matt.18:17; 1 Cor.5:4,11,13;12:6;2:3; 2 Cor.2:6,7.
Again, what caught my attention is that "power" is in the body of believers, and not in any particular sub-group or special persons like it is in many Baptist churches here in Ecuador (usually the pastor.)
XLVII.
AND although the particular congregations be distinct, and several bodies, every one as a compact and knit city within itself; yet are they all to walk by one rule of truth; so also they (by all means convenient) are to have the counsel and help one of another, if necessity require it, as members of one body, in the common faith, under Christ their head. 1 Cor.4:17, 14:33,36,16:1; Ps.122:3; Eph.2:12,19: Rev.2:1; 1 Tim.3:15, 6:13,14; 1 Cor.4:17; Acts 15:2,3; Song of Sol.8:8.9; 2 Cor.8:1.4, 13:14.
While meeting in various geographic locations around the city, the "several bodies" are to "have the counsel and help one of another..." How I wish we could get back to this basic practice of understanding that we are all one in Christ and in need of one another. We are to be there for one another and not separate ourselves from our brothers in our own mini church kingdoms.
XLV.
Also such to whom God hath given gifts in the church, may and ought to prophecy [viz., teach] according to the proportion of faith, and to teach publicly the word of God, for the edification, exhortation, and comfort of the church.1 Cor. 14:3, etc.; Rom 12:6; 1 Pet. 4:10, 11; 1 Cor. 12:7; 1 Thess. 5:19, etc.
This is nothing more than direct teaching from Paul out of I Corinthians 14. Yet we have taken away from the people to publicly prophecy/teach and hired out professionals to edify, exhort, and comfort the church.
Comments? Oberservations? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
If simple churches are usually led by non-professional "lay" leaders, who performs all of the ceremonies traditionally officiated by professional clergy? Who does the baptizing, serving of the Lord's Supper, funerals, weddings, and all the other duties traditionally done by ordained ministers? Who do you call when there is a death in the family? Can anyone baptize (women?) Who presides over the Lord's Supper? Can any believer marry a couple?
I have no problem answering these questions, but as part of my answer, I like to inquire of the person asking, where in the NT do we get the idea that only a certain class carry out these functions? Can any of us point to a single instance in the NT where any of these functions is designated as exclusive terrain of a chosen few? Is it a commandment or an ordinance that only trained, seminary educated, ordained ministers be the ones to baptize, serve the Lord's Supper, wed, or bury? There is nothing wrong with them doing so, but are we not ALL Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a Chosen Race?
So, to the practical outworking of how these things are carried out in simple house church settings...
The short version is that we deal with each situation as it comes up. In other words we don't worry about these things until in the natural flow of things they need to be dealt with. When the need arises, those in the house church leadership will call on us to help them. This usually entails sitting down and helping them understand what God wants them to do in this situation. Sometimes they come right out and ask us to lead the ceremony. Often I will agree to do so this first occasion, but next time it is their responsibility. I view these opportunities to further train and orient the servant leaders by their watching me do it.
Baptism. We don't make a big deal over who does the baptizing. Any disciple can baptize. In fact disciples are commanded to do so in Matthew 28:18-20. Usually the way this works is that the house church leader will do so themselves with one or two assistants from the church. If for whatever reason they are not able, or do not wish to do so, they find somebody else to do the baptizing. It's not so much WHO does the baptizing, as in WHOSE NAME they are baptized.
The Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is a meal and regularly observed by the house churches. It is carried out in any number of different ways. One way is, again, to model how it is done. Many times when a group of new believers is ready for their first Lord's Supper, they will invite one of their mentors to preside. We gladly do so as a means of modeling a way of how it can be done. What is scary is that however we choose to lead during this time is often copied from there on out as "the way" to do the Lord's Supper! Over the years, though, I have seen a lot of creative and meaningful ways to celebrate this memorial.
Weddings. We have had many house church weddings over the past few years. Each has been special and meaningful to not only those getting married, but a blessing to the church as a whole. Sometimes I have been asked to perform the wedding, and have done so gladly. Usually though I will only perform the first wedding in a house church, but expect them to do any subsequent weddings. Sometimes the couple getting married will specifically ask their house church leader to do the ceremony. In these cases--and there have been several--the leader will come asking for help. We will sit down and step by step go over what needs to be done. We practice until they are fairly confident. It is important that the servant leaders be seen as empowered to carry out ALL the necessary tasks involved in church life. If we somehow leave the impression that only ordained pastors and missionaries can fill certain roles, we will harm the church's natural development. The last thing we want to do is create dependency upon the missionary.
Funerals. Again, we will go over with the house church leaders a basic outline of the kinds of things to say and do at a funeral. I just returned from one of these funerals not 30-minutes ago. The house church leader did a wonderful job. He asked me to say a few words, but the bulk of the time was led by him. I remember one house church leader being asked to preside over a wake. She had absolutely no experience or background to do so. In a panic she called several people to come to the rescue. None were available so she prayed to the Lord for guidance and went on to the wake. There, she was able to minister in the power of the Holy Spirit, and was a great blessing to the family. She related that it wasn't that hard. It was just a matter of allowing the Spirit of God freedom to minister through her. She related they sang a few songs, she shared a passage of Scripture and a few words of comfort, the family shared their memories of the loved one, prays were said, and then she visited with the family.
The list really extends to many other natural church life functions as well. Praying for the sick, dealing with demons, counseling, baby dedications, home visits, anniversaries, birthday parties, etc. NONE of these are the exclusive domain of professional clergy. ALL are matters which normally should be carried out by Spirit-filled disciples. It is not about us and how highly trained we are, but about HIM and what He wants to do in and through us.
Mateo 28:18 Toda autoridad ha sido dado a los siervos pastores, líderes de las denominaciones y misioneros y obreros con credenciales otorgados por hombres. Ellos les dirán lo que tienen que hacer, cómo hacerlo, y cuando. Todo hay que hacerlo decentemente y en orden como dicen las Sagradas Escrituras.
Mateo 28:19a Por lo tanto, cuando hay un énfasis o programa evangelístico de la iglesia, vayan con la bendición de los líderes y evangelicen a los perdidos, predicándolos la Palabra del Señor. Invita al pecador a orar una oración de salvación y cuando diga el “Amén” usted responderá, “Gloria a Dios...¡un nuevo hermano en Cristo!”
Mateo 28:19b Ya que no entendemos claramente como hacer discípulos como Jesús nos mandó hacer, hagamos todo lo posible para cumplir con el "Plan B" de animar a los que oren la oración de arrepentimiento a buscar una iglesia evangélica (preferiblemente la nuestra.) Allí podrán escuchar los mensajes del pastor e involucrarse en todos los buenos programas que tiene la iglesia. De esta forma aprenderán todo lo que es necesario para ser un buen discípulo de Cristo.
Mateo 28:19c Ya que solamente tienen la autoridad los pastores y líderes con credenciales para bautizar, entonces nuestra responsabilidad es llevar a los nuevos convertidos a la iglesia y presentarlos al pastor para que él u otra persona designada los prepara en clases bautismales. Estas clases deberán durar por lo menos 13 semanas. Al cumplir satisfactoriamente con la materia estudiada, el candidato tendrá que esperar hasta la próxima fecha programada por la iglesia para efectuar su bautismo. Cuando ese día llegue, habrá que vestirse con una toga blanca y uno de los pastores de la iglesia llevará a cabo el bautismo. (OJO: ¡Hay excepciones de poder bautizar a las personas quienes no han podido primeramente poner en orden su vida familiar y/o matrimonial! A estas personas se les tendrá en limbo espiritual hasta que puedan comprobar su estado legítimo de relación conyugal.)
Mateo 28:20a Por último, el nuevo bautizado tendrá que aprender las reglas y forma correcta de andar como creyente evangélico bautizado. La lista varía de una iglesia a otra pero podría incluir varios de los siguientes puntos:
• asistir regularmente a los cultos, reuniones y programas de la iglesia*
• si aun no le hayan regalado una Biblia, hay que conseguir una y empezar a leerla*
• aprenda a cantar las alabanzas lo más antes posible ya que estas van a ser la forma principal que se le permitirá participar en los cultos y reuniones de la iglesia*
• el creyente tiene que cuidar de la forma como se viste y se arregla--¡especialmente las hermanas! (varía de iglesia a iglesia así que hay que poner atención en como los demás se visten para no causar escándalos con sus nuevos hermanos)*
• dé el diezmo entero de lo que gana y entrégueselo al Señor en el alfolí (en otras palabras, dé el 10% de lo que gana a la iglesia donde Ud. se congrega)*
• ya tiene que dejar de fumar, bailar, tomar licor, ver novelas en la TV, hablar malas palabras, ir a fiestas mundanas, jugar naipes, o ir al cine (esta lista también varía de iglesia a iglesia)*
• también tendrá que dejar atrás sus viejos amigos del mundo (con la excepción de predicarles la Palabra de Dios) y en adelante relacionarse solamente con su nueva familia de la fe*
• aprenda lo más pronto posible el vocabulario aceptable para un creyente, “DIOS TE BENDIGA”, “GLORIA A DIOS”, “AMEN”, “MI AMADO PASTOR”, “ALELUYA”, “A SU NOMBRE GLORIA”, y muchas frases más que le servirán como un buen comienzo para y así poder hablar como todos los demás hermanos*
Mateo 28:20b Al aprender y poner en práctica todas estas cosas puede estar seguro que la promesa del Señor se cumplirá, “y he aquí, yo estoy con vosotros todos los días, hasta el fin del mundo.”
Me pregunto, ¿son estas las ideas de lo que el Señor Jesús tenía en mente cuando nos dió la Gran Comisión?
Toda potestad me es dada en el cielo y en la tierra.
Por tanto, id, y haced discípulos a todas las naciones,
bautizándolos en el nombre del Padre, y del Hijo, y del Espíritu Santo;
enseñándoles que guarden todas las cosas que os he mandado;
y he aquí yo estoy con vosotros todos los días, hasta el fin del mundo. --Jesús
¿Qué piensa Ud.?
---------------------- * a propósito, ninguna de estas cosas fueron mandadas por Cristo. Ni una sola. Si no fueron estas cosas las que el Señor nos mandó enseñarles, ¿qué significan sus palabras, “enseñándoles a guardar todo lo que os he mandado?”
There are at least two reasons why we have not seen a Church Planting Movement (CPM) in Ecuador. Both have to do with baptism.
1) only recognized licensed, credentialed pastors can baptize
2) only sinners who have first straightened out their moral lives can be baptized
Closely related to these two, would be a third reason:
3) pastors/leaders unwilling to release those God has entrusted to them as legitimate Jesus-commissioned disciples to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach.
In the cases where believers are released to go fishing, they are instructed to bring everything they catch back home where the newly caught fish are made to look everyone else.
In my book--or my understanding of God's Book--all these are extra-biblical requirements that go beyond what Scripture actually teaches. It wouldn't be so bad, except these beliefs are keeping us from effectively bringing in the harvest.
Obviously, though, my understanding is flawed in some way because 19 out of 20 pastors/leaders we deal with hold to all three positions and no amount of talk, dialog or Bible Study seems to change their mind. If I sound a bit frustrated, it is because I am a bit frustrated!
Ecuador is a harvest field. There are few places on the planet as responsive to the Gospel as this country. Yet, the greatest barriers to bringing in this harvest are not political, any lack of resources, or even other religions. We are the problem! We who profess to be Christ followers are the dam holding back the rising river waters.
Yes, I believe, sooner or later the Lord of the River will do one of two things: the rising waters will eventually build so much pressure that the dam bursts; or, the river will take on a new course around the dam.
Right now neither of these two alternatives have taken place. But eventually something MUST give way. I guess I am the eternal optimist and am holding out for both to happen. I just hope it is within my life time!
Thank you for pausing a minute and praying for God's Spirit to do something in our midst that has nothing to do with any of us, or the dam. Something that only God can do to bring this nation unto himself.
A continuación una lista completa de todos los pasajes en el libro de Los Hechos que hablan del bautismo.
Al estudiar los pasajes haga las siguientes preguntas...
¿Cuándo fueron bautizados?
¿Cuál era el requisito para ser bautizado?
¿Quién bautizó?
¿Cuanto tiempo pasó en cada caso entre el haber creido y el haber sido bautizado?
En estos pasajes, qué es más importante, ¿la persona quién bautiza, o el nombre en quién se bautiza?
¿En estos pasajes hay algo que prohibe que una hermana en Cristo pueda bautizar?
Según los pasajes arriba, ¿cuándo sería un caso cuando un pecador se arrepiente y NO se le debería bautizar?
¿Qué podemos aprender en cuanto al bautismo acerca de la práctica de la iglesia en el primer siglo?
¿Tenemos el derecho de imponer otras prácticas o impedimentos al bautismo a las que se observan aquí en estos pasajes del libro de los Hechos, la Palabra de Dios?
Hechos 2:36-41 Sepa, pues, con certeza toda la casa de Israel, que a este Jesús a quien vosotros crucificasteis, Dios le ha hecho Señor y Cristo. Al oír esto, compungidos de corazón, dijeron a Pedro y a los demás apóstoles: Hermanos, ¿qué haremos? Y Pedro les dijo: Arrepentíos y sed bautizados cada uno de vosotros en el nombre de Jesucristo para perdón de vuestros pecados, y recibiréis el don del Espíritu Santo. Porque la promesa es para vosotros y para vuestros hijos y para todos los que están lejos, para tantos como el Señor nuestro Dios llame. Y con muchas otras palabras testificaba solemnemente y les exhortaba diciendo: Sed salvos de esta perversa generación. Entonces los que habían recibido su palabra fueron bautizados; y se añadieron aquel día como tres mil almas.
8:9-13 Y cierto hombre llamado Simón, hacía tiempo que estaba ejerciendo la magia en la ciudad y asombrando a la gente de Samaria, pretendiendo ser un gran personaje ; y todos, desde el menor hasta el mayor, le prestaban atención, diciendo: Este es el que se llama el Gran Poder de Dios. Le prestaban atención porque por mucho tiempo los había asombrado con sus artes mágicas. Pero cuando creyeron a Felipe, que anunciaba las buenas nuevas del reino de Dios y el nombre de Cristo Jesús, se bautizaban, tanto hombres como mujeres. Y aun Simón mismo creyó; y después de bautizarse, continuó con Felipe, y estaba atónito al ver las señales y los grandes milagros que se hacían.
8:34-39 El eunuco respondió a Felipe y dijo: Te ruego que me digas, ¿de quién dice esto el profeta? ¿De sí mismo, o de algún otro? Entonces Felipe abrió su boca, y comenzando desde esta Escritura, le anunció el evangelio de Jesús. Yendo por el camino, llegaron a un lugar donde había agua; y el eunuco dijo*: Mira, agua. ¿Qué impide que yo sea bautizado? Y Felipe dijo: Si crees con todo tu corazón, puedes. Respondió él y dijo: Creo que Jesucristo es el Hijo de Dios.Y mandó parar el carruaje; ambos descendieron al agua, Felipe y el eunuco, y lo bautizó. Al salir ellos del agua, el Espíritu del Señor arrebató a Felipe; y no lo vio más el eunuco, que continuó su camino gozoso.
9:17-18 Ananías fue y entró en la casa, y después de poner las manos sobre él, dijo: Hermano Saulo, el Señor Jesús, que se te apareció en el camino por donde venías, me ha enviado para que recobres la vista y seas lleno del Espíritu Santo. Al instante cayeron de sus ojos como unas escamas, y recobró la vista; y se levantó y fue bautizado.
10:44-48 Mientras Pedro aún hablaba estas palabras, el Espíritu Santo cayó sobre todos los que escuchaban el mensaje. Y todos los creyentes que eran de la circuncisión, que habían venido con Pedro, se quedaron asombrados, porque el don del Espíritu Santo había sido derramado también sobre los gentiles, pues les oían hablar en lenguas y exaltar a Dios. Entonces Pedro dijo: ¿Puede acaso alguien negar el agua para que sean bautizados éstos que han recibido el Espíritu Santo lo mismo que nosotros? Y mandó que fueran bautizados en el nombre de Jesucristo. Entonces le pidieron que se quedara con ellos unos días.
16:13-15 Y en el día de reposo salimos fuera de la puerta, a la orilla de un río, donde pensábamos que habría un lugar de oración; nos sentamos y comenzamos a hablar a las mujeres que se habían reunido. Y estaba escuchando cierta mujer llamada Lidia, de la ciudad de Tiatira, vendedora de telas de púrpura, que adoraba a Dios; y el Señor abrió su corazón para que recibiera lo que Pablo decía. Cuando ella y su familia se bautizaron, nos rogó, diciendo: Si juzgáis que soy fiel al Señor, venid a mi casa y quedaos en ella. Y nos persuadió a ir.
16:29-34 Entonces él pidió luz y se precipitó adentro, y temblando, se postró ante Pablo y Silas, y después de sacarlos, dijo: Señores, ¿qué debo hacer para ser salvo? Ellos respondieron: Cree en el Señor Jesús, y serás salvo, tú y toda tu casa. Y le hablaron la palabra del Señor a él y a todos los que estaban en su casa. Y él los tomó en aquella misma hora de la noche, y les lavó las heridas; enseguida fue bautizado, él y todos los suyos. Llevándolos a su hogar, les dio de comer, y se regocijó grandemente por haber creído en Dios con todos los suyos.
18:7-8 Y partiendo de allí, se fue a la casa de un hombre llamado Ticio Justo, que adoraba a Dios, cuya casa estaba junto a la sinagoga. Y Crispo, el oficial de la sinagoga, creyó en el Señor con toda su casa, y muchos de los corintios, al oír, creían y eran bautizados.
19:1-7 Y aconteció que mientras Apolos estaba en Corinto, Pablo, habiendo recorrido las regiones superiores, llegó a Efeso y encontró a algunos discípulos, y les dijo: ¿Recibisteis el Espíritu Santo cuando creísteis? Y ellos le respondieron: No, ni siquiera hemos oído si hay un Espíritu Santo. Entonces él dijo: ¿En qué bautismo, pues, fuisteis bautizados? Ellos contestaron: En el bautismo de Juan. Y Pablo dijo: Juan bautizó con el bautismo de arrepentimiento, diciendo al pueblo que creyeran en aquel que vendría después de él, es decir, en Jesús. Cuando oyeron esto, fueron bautizados en el nombre del Señor Jesús. Y cuando Pablo les impuso las manos, vino sobre ellos el Espíritu Santo, y hablaban en lenguas y profetizaban. Eran en total unos doce hombres.
Bautismos en Salitre (a media hora de Guayaquil) poniendo en práctica lo entendido de arriba.
MEGA CHURCH TO META (Beyond) CHURCH
--21 Steps to transit from being a barren church to a millionaire of souls--
(Part 2 of 2)
by *Victor Choudhrie, 2010
11. Challenge purposeless churches to enunciate a clear vision and a road map to translate that vision into action plan to ‘do greater things than these’. Armed with maps, stats and the Great Commission, go two by two and teach divine arithmetic of planting just one multiplying church every month and in ten short months, even the least shall plant a thousand meta churches. John 14:12; Acts 16:5; Luke 10:1, 2; Isa 60:22
12. Unglue from the pews all those Christians who sit, soak and stagnate and send them to heal the sick, raise the dead, tread on snakes and scorpions (expel demons), bind the ‘strongman’, plunder his possessions and demolish the gates of Hell. Matt 11:12; 12:29; 16:18,19; Mark 16:17-18; Luke 10:19
13. Resurrect from being a dead organization to a living organism. Eliminate all extra-biblical cosmetic titles like Director, Chairman, CEO, and Secretary, by appointing five-fold ministry-gifted Elders, like apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, as equippers. By feeding, leading and keeping the flock healthy and reproductive, they must reach those who are outside the fold. Eph. 4:11; Tit.1:5-9; John 10:16
14. Empower every Sunday school, bible school, prayer cell, women’s fellowship, and cottage meeting, by calling them full-fledged, authentic churches. They must make disciples who baptize, break bread, equip laborers and send missionaries and like the school of Tyrannus, change spiritual demography. 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Acts 19:8-12
15. Filter out selfish-goat church members who come only for hatching (baby baptism), matching (wedding) and dispatching (funeral), and replace them with sheep who take care of the hungry, thirsty, naked, strangers, sick and prisoners. Culling the non-productive barren sheep is a very important principle of sheep rearing. God chose David to shepherd Israel because he took care of “ewes great with young”. Matt. 25:31-46; Psalm 78:70-72
16. Simplify disciple making. Get a Bible and invite a couple of truth-seekers for a meal where the main dish is - The Lamb. Redefine authentic church as wherever two or three friends meet to eat, gossip the gospel, and to multiply. Meta church is the most cost effective strategy for city penetration and reaching the ends of the earth. Acts 2:46-47
17. Substitute seminary training by sharing the whole wisdom of God from house to house. Sound doctrine is the ability to convince those who oppose. The lost of this world do not need scholars as much as they need spiritual fathers and mothers who bring many spiritual sons and daughters to glory. Acts 20:20, 27; Tit. 1:9; 1Cor. 4:15; 2Tim. 2:2; Heb 2:10
18. Reorient your own personal paradigm. Your business, workplace or home, wherever you spend most of your time, is your ‘primary nuclear church’. It matters little whether you are the CEO, or the janitor or the kitchen queen, you are a full-time minister there and accountable. Adam and Eve were accountable for the Garden of Eden and failed.
19. Recognize ‘Hi, there,’ ‘Hello,’ handshaking, Sunday church as your ‘secondary optional church’. A church that does not send you out to ‘raise your holy hands to pray everywhere’ and equip you to make Christ ‘high and lifted up’ in your home, workplace and neighborhood is not worth going to. 1 Tim. 2:8; Isa. 6:1
20. Re-set your priorities to preach Christ where He has not been named. For this you do not have to go to church from Sunday to Sunday nor work from paycheck to paycheck. You are “ordained” to be fruitful, to multiply, and to fill your home/workplace/neighborhood and the city with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Matt. 6:33; Rom. 15:20; John 15:16; Gen. 1:28; Hab. 2:14
21. Adopt a ‘completion mindset’. Evaluate your ministry with the Great Commission as the mandate with the number of disciples made, baptized, equipped and sent out, as benchmarks. Aim to be a millionaire of souls. Why not? After all, you claim to believe in a great and awesome God for whom nothing is impossible. At the very least, like Peter, shoot for 3000 baptisms by every Pentecost. Or like Paul, plant a multiplying church every day and claim that there are no more places left here for me to ‘fully preach the gospel’, not just with words, ‘but with signs and mighty deeds’. Acts 2:41; 16:5; Rom. 15:19, 23.
-------------------------- *Victor Choudhrie is a cancer surgeon by profession. He is a Senior Fellow of the American and British Colleges of Surgeons. He left his position as Director and CEO of the Christian Medical college, Ludhiana, Punjab, India, in 1992, to take up a full-time Church planting ministry in central India. His wife, Bindu, is also in a full-time church planting ministry, equipping women to be house-church leaders and trainers. They now have disciples making disciples in some forty countries. Theirs is presently amongst the fastest growing movements deploying volunteers with no paid workers in the field. God has blessed this ministry abundantly. In the year from Pentecost 2009 to Pentecost 2010, over one million underwent a ‘holy dip’ through their ministry partners. Large numbers of grassroots level leaders have been trained, who, subsequently, have planted tens of thousands of house churches across India and abroad.
Books written by Victor Choudhrie include: The Ekklesia, the Church in your House; The Apostolic Gardens; The Prayer Warrior; Teaching Cards and From Mega Church to Meta (Beyond) Church soon to be published. Electronic copies are available on payment of US $10 via PayPal: vchoudhrie@gmail.com
*Victor Choudhrie's 21 steps might sound like something coming from some fringe extremists. But when you realize that from Pentecost 2009 to Pentecost 2010 we are talking about ministry resulting in over one million people baptized and tens of thousands of house churches planted, these guys have my attention. What other ministry anywhere in the world even comes close to a tenth of what these Jesus radicals are experiencing today in India?
MEGA CHURCH TO META (Beyond) CHURCH
--21 Steps to transit from being a barren church to a millionaire of souls--
(Part 1 of 2)
by Victor Choudhrie, 2010
1. Rewrite the job description of professional clergy from a pulpit orator, sacrament dispenser and tithe gatherer to a shepherd who feeds his flock to be healthy and reproducing by encouraging them to practice priesthood of all believers with authority to baptize, break bread and equip fishers of men. He must model a flat church structure where brothers and sisters submit to one another, pray one for another, serve one another, exhort, forgive and love each other. John 13:34, 35; Matt.18:21-22; Eph. 5:21
2. Move from meeting in temples to gathering in ‘houses of peace’. ‘God does not dwell in temples made by human hands’; rather He dwells in human hearts. For we are the mobile walking and talking temples of the living God, with a maximum of organism and a minimum of organization. Luke 10:5-9; Matt. 10:11-13; Acts 7:48-49; 2 Cor. 6:16
3. Phase out programmed Sunday ‘services’ while implementing informal, small gatherings. The Bride of Christ must have intimacy with her Lord every day, not only for a couple of hours a week, lest she become unfaithful. However, discourage cross-gender disciple-making, lest chemistry foul things up. Acts 2:46-47; Hebrew 3:13
4. Replace Mosaic tithing with Christian sharing, thereby harnessing the enormous, financial resources, hospitality and goodwill available in Christian homes. Believe that God is going to work a work among the nations through you which will leave you utterly amazed, and also provide resources for it. Deut. 8:17-18; Acts 5:32-34; Hab. 1:5
5. Dispense with wafer-and-sip Holy Communion services, and promote breaking of bread with simple Agape meals (love feasts) from house to house that believers take together with glad hearts, so the Lord can add to His numbers daily. Acts 2:46,47; 1 Cor.11:20-23
6. Replace professional music with believers speaking to each other in psalms and spiritual songs, making melody in their hearts to the Lord. OT worship required the sacrifice of four-footed beasts, the NT celebrates by offering two legged Gentiles as a living sacrifice. The meta church is a discipling hub and not a singing club. Eph 5:19; Col 3:16; Rom. 15:16
7. Shift from spectator-oriented church to ‘metastasizing’ interactive, participatory, prophetic church. Empower men, women and youth, to get the dragon off the driver’s seat. We, the seed of Abraham are blessed, “with multiplying I will multiply you and your seed will possess the gates of the enemy”. 1 Cor.14:26-31; Acts 13:13;18:4; Gen. 22:17,18
8. For powerful synergy, metamorphose mega churches into city, regional and national, networks of ‘meta’ (beyond) churches. Instead of bringing everyone under one roof, have them gather under thousand roofs, just like the mega church at Jerusalem planted meta churches across Judea, Samaria, Antioch, Corinth, Rome and beyond (meta) that grew in faith and in numbers (both quality and quantity) daily. Romans 16:3-15; Acts 1:8; 16:5
9. Infect barren Bride with the multiplication virus. A healthy mature female (Bride) implies that she is ready to have babies. Rebecca the Bride of Isaac was blessed by her family to have millions of children. The time has come for the Bride of Christ to stretch her tent to the left and to the right and to the north and to the south and produce millions of meta churches and fill the earth. Gen. 24:60; Isa. 54:1-5; Acts 1: 8
10. Know your identity in Christ: you are a royal-priest; made so by the blood of the Lamb. Dismantle ‘Reverend’ culture that divides clergy from layman. Like Melchizedek, the royal-priest of Salem (city of peace), who served bread and wine, took tithe and blessed Abraham, bring godly governance to your city. Catch the vision of cloning royal-priests for every city and run with it. 1Pet.2:9; Rev.5:10; Hab.2:1-3; Isa. 9:6-7; Gen. 14:18
------------------ *Victor Choudhrie is a cancer surgeon by profession. He is a Senior Fellow of the American and British Colleges of Surgeons. He left his position as Director and CEO of the Christian Medical college, Ludhiana, Punjab, India, in 1992, to take up a full-time Church planting ministry in central India. His wife, Bindu, is also in a full-time church planting ministry, equipping women to be house-church leaders and trainers. They now have disciples making disciples in some forty countries. Theirs is presently amongst the fastest growing movements deploying volunteers with no paid workers in the field. God has blessed this ministry abundantly. In the year from Pentecost 2009 to Pentecost 2010, over one million underwent a ‘holy dip’ through their ministry partners. Large numbers of grassroots level leaders have been trained, who, subsequently, have planted tens of thousands of house churches across India and abroad.
Books written by Victor Choudhrie include: The Ekklesia, the Church in your House; The Apostolic Gardens; The Prayer Warrior; Teaching Cards and From Mega Church to Meta (Beyond) Church soon to be published. Electronic copies are available on payment of US $10 via PayPal: vchoudhrie@gmail.com
One of the issues continuing to resurface again and again in our church planting is whether or not individual believers (disciples) can baptize those whom they have led to Christ. The vast majority of evangelicals in Ecuador hold to the notion that only recognized (ordained) pastors, and missionaries are authorized to perform baptisms.
Was this Jesus intent when he gave us the Great Commission?
Were his commands to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach intended for:
1) the gathered disciples and them alone, 2) the local church throughout the ages, or 3) all disciples of Christ down through the ages?
If your interpretation is #1, then sit back and relax, there is little for you to worry about. It's not your business what God chooses to do with the untold millions who are on their way to an eternity separated from Christ. As strange as it sounds, I have dialogued with many believers who don't like to admit it, but by their actions actually hold to this position. They feel their responsibility is only to those the Lord brings directly into their life. They have been pacified in their conscience that God only "calls" certain ones of us for this kind of work. They, of course, are not part of this select group.
If the second interpretation is where you find peace, then you believe that every believer is charged by Christ to:
a) go, b) make disciples, c) ? d) teach these new believers.
What happened to "c"? Why is it skipped? Those holding to this position feel that baptism as an ordinance is reserved only for those proper administrators, someone who has been given a separate and special authority to baptize.
In other words, all of us can do three of the four commands of Christ. But only certain individuals can do all four. Was that Christ's intent when he charged his disciples with carrying out the Great Commission? Did He consider baptism something in a separate class to the other tasks of going, disicipling and teaching? Is it something so special that it can only be administered by a select group of authorized individuals? If so, who are those individuals? How do they get to be the lucky ones to get to obey ALL that Christ said?
My own understanding, and the way we teach, points me to the third option...
I feel the plain reading of the GC lends itself to just what it says: ALL followers of Christ who consider themselves to be His disciples. We are the ones charged with carrying out Jesus' commission.
We are all part of the Body of Christ. There are no individual followers of Christ who have "more authority" than others. Any differences amongst those making up the Body, are functional, not authoritative.
The Spirit has given gifts to each for the building up of the Body of Christ. To begin to elevate persons over others is to go down the road leading to the whole sacerdotal/priestly function like we find entrenched in the Roman Catholic Church. There a clear separation exists between the professional clergy (who have authority), and the laity (who do not.) Clergy are authorized to perform the ceremonies of the church; the laity are not. There we find classes of Christians, distinctions.
Imagine with me for a moment the following scenario...
What would happen if every Dick, Jane, Bill and Harry were to get it into their heads that, yes, THEY are responsible for the Great Commission? Not just a select chosen few, but ALL of us! Like Peter, James, and John, we too have been vested with authority by Jesus Christ himself (Matt.28:18). It is for us to fulfill--not in part--but ALL of the Great Commission! I dare say, we would be far closer to finishing the task than we are today.
What do you think?
---------- P.S. I appear baptizing in the photo above modeling how it is done. The sister on the right is a new believer and is participating in her first baptism. It is kind of a "passing the baton" where we do the first baptism with them assisting. After this, they will perform any future baptisms.
The following thought-provoking one liners come from the pre-conference sessions at the World House Church Conference in India, as shared by Felicity Dale on her blog Simply Church. They are from talks given by the leader of a church planting movement that baptized more than 300,000 on the Day of Pentecost in 2009. Worth taking note!
Jesus never said, "Be baptized." He said, "You baptize."
You disciple--you baptize.
Jesus baptized Peter--but only his feet.
You will not see a movement without signs and wonders. Ninety five percent of our house churches have signs and wonders.
Apostolic teaching is the teaching to GO.
There are 19 commands of Jesus to be found in the New Testament. All lead to the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
Hospitality is the secret to precipitating a movement.
Sit and soak, and you stagnate. Eat and chat and you will multiply.
Goat prayers are "meeee" prayers. They focus on me and my needs, my family and my situation.
Use the newspaper headlines as your prayer list.
Theologians think, not from Genesis to Revelation but from genetics to evolution.
We need a problem-based theology. In our house churches we solve problems--finances, sickness etc.
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So, which of the above grabs your attention? For me the ones that speak loudest are the ones about baptism. Mainly, because, this is an issue we deal with regularly in our own trainings. I am convinced if we could accept the above statement, "You disciple--You baptize" we would see a Church Planting Movement in Ecuador.
See if you agree with his biblical analysis and interpretation...
The question at hand is whether the local church is the only appropriate place for a valid, biblically-correct baptism to take place. Is a baptism that is performed outside the authority of a local church to be considered valid or invalid? I will not argue that baptism should never be performed under the direction of a local church. I will argue that local church oversight, while normal, is not necessary to the performance of a valid baptism.
Baptists have use “confessions” to describe our doctrine through the years. I will admit that those confessions support church oversight, in general. But we Baptists honor history; we are not bound by it. We are guided by what the Bible says. And I will argue that the Bible does not support the idea that baptism is only valid under local church supervision.
The Narratives of Acts
Acts has eight instances of baptism. In Acts 2:41, 3000 converts are baptized after Peter’s sermon. There was no established church at that moment. In fact, this event was the establishment of the church, so there is little evidence here. In Acts 8:12-13, Philip preaches in Samaria after fleeing Jerusalem’s persecution. He baptizes those who believe. He sought approval of no local church to perform those baptisms. Again, in Acts 8:37-40, Philip meets the Ethiopian Eunuch and leads him to Christ. The eunuch asks, “What prevents me from being baptized?” If local church authority was essential, Philip should have responded, “I’ve got to get approval from the church.”
The evidence gets stronger in Acts 9:18, because there was an established church in Damascus. Ananias is directed to go and speak to Saul, who is converted. Saul is baptized immediately, without any approval of the disciples of Damascus. Acts 10 is even clearer. Peter is directed by God to visit Cornelius, a gentile. He is baptized immediately upon his conversion. There is no local church for him to be baptized into. In fact, Peter had to defend the decision in the Jerusalem church after the fact. He only sought approval after the fact. He baptized first, then got approval later.
In Acts 16:14-15, Paul baptizes Lydia soon after his arrival in Philippi. There is no local church into which to baptize her. Later, when Paul leads the Philippian jailer to faith, there is a local church, but Paul does not get their approval before baptizing him. The baptism of John’s disciples in Acts 19:3-5 gives little evidence in this argument.
It is tricky making points from narrative. However, the eight instances of baptism in Acts consistently demonstrate no local oversight. That is evidence that must be explained by those who demand church oversight as essential. Dismissing the evidence as “narrative” is not enough.
Evidence from the Epistles
Epistolary evidence explains narrative experiences. So, what do the epistles say? There are six references in the epistles about baptism (it can be tricky to differentiate water baptism from Spirit baptism). None of them give any support to local church oversight. In fact, they argue against it.
Romans 6:1-4 tells us that those who were “baptized into Christ” were buried with him into death and raised to walk a new life. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 uses baptism to discuss the divisions in the Corinthian church. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 states that Christians were all baptized into one body. Paul and his associates were not baptized into the Corinthian church, so it can hardly be argued that he is speaking of their baptism into the local Corinthian church. Galatians 3:27 says that those who were “baptized into Christ” have put on Christ. Ephesians 4:7 says that there is “one baptism” as there is one Lord and one faith. 1 Peter 3:21 refers to the meaning of baptism as an expression of cleared conscience through the resurrection of Christ.
The key point is the phrase that is used in Romans 6 and Galatians 3, and in similar form in 1 Corinthians 12. We are “baptized into Christ.” Never does it say, “baptized into the church” or describe baptism as an initiation into a local church. It seems that baptism was an expression of a person’s salvation experience in Christ which immediately followed conversion. Local church oversight and involvement began immediately after baptism in the New Testament.
The Great Commission
Those who argue for local church oversight often base their argument in Matthew 28:18-20, the Great Commission. Jesus said that we were to “make disciples” by both baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything Christ spoke. They maintain that the Great Commission gives oversight of baptism and discipleship to the local church. However, that is a hermeneutical stretch. This passage is given to the apostles and all the disciples – the universal Body of Christ (another debate topic entirely). No local church existed yet when the passage was spoken.
In conclusion, the view that all valid baptisms must be performed under local church oversight may be argued from historic confessions, but not from scripture. There is no support for it in the narratives of Acts. The epistles describe baptism as “into Christ” and do not support it either. Only a forced reading of the Great Commission supports the idea. It is clear to me that baptism is an expression of faith in Christ that is properly experienced under the guidance of the body of Christ, but local church oversight is not essential to the performance of a valid baptism.
So what do you think? Is church oversight essential for baptism? Do you agree or disagree with David?
Jesus never asked you to worship only on Sundays. His disciples worshiped daily, broke bread from house to house and the Lord added to the church daily and the churches were planted daily. (Acts 2: 46-47; 16:5; Heb. 3:13)
Jesus never said that only the pastors can serve bread and wine. Jesus served roast lamb, bread, bitter herb and wine for the last supper. Whenever His disciples gathered they shared Agape meals together in His remembrance. (Exo. 12:8; 1 Cor. 11:20-26)
Jesus did not say that you should tithe. According to His teachings, the disciples opened their homes and shared their possessions with others so that no one lacked anything. (Acts 4: 32-34; Deut. 8:17-18)
Jesus did not ask you to build a church building. He said God does not live in houses made with human hands because the heaven is His throne and the earth is His foot stool. Now we are the temple of the living God. (Acts 7: 48-49; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Cor. 3:9)
Jesus did not say that you appoint qualified professional pastors. He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers to equip His church. (Eph. 4:11-12)
Jesus did not say that only the Pastors can baptize. Jesus said you go and make disciples and baptize them. (Matt. 28:19)
Jesus did not ask the pastor to bury. He said let the dead bury the dead, you go and raise the dead. (Luke 9:60; Matt. 10:8)
Jesus did not ask you to follow the church program. He said follow me and I will make you fishers of men. He did not ask you to send believers to Sunday service or the Bible school. He said send the laborers to the harvest fields. He said he who gathers is with Me and he who scatters is against Me. (Matt. 4:19, 9:38, 12:30)
Jesus did not ask you to organize crusades and conventions. He will not judge you on the basis of large crowds or the wonderful worship and beautiful music. He will judge on what you did for the little and the least of the world. (Matt. 25:31-46,18:3-6; Isa. 58:6-9)
Jesus did not say that only men can talk in the church and the women should cover their head and keep quiet. He made them talk, even allowed them to argue with Him in public. (Luke 10:40; Mark 7:24-30)
Jesus did not say that you are just a layman. He bought you with His blood and ordained you priest and king. As royal priests, make disciples, baptize, equip fishers of men and rule on earth. (Rev. 5:9-10; 1 Pet 2:9)
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*Victor Choudhrie gave up his medical practice for full time church planting in central India. Along with his wife Bindu, large numbers of grassroots level leaders have been trained who have planted thousands of house churches all over India. After reading, you may not agree with some of Choudrie's interpretations of the various Scriptures quoted. I personally find his non-western conclusions quite challenging. While mostly agreeing with what Bro. Victor writes, I find several of these difficult to implement in our own church planting context. What about you?
