Would I Be Gathering If I Weren’t the Pastor?

Mike Leake

photo-1422433555807-2559a27433bdMost churches across the US (which are open) are running anywhere from 40-60% of the Sunday AM attendance that they were six months ago. We’ve been gutted. What has surprised us pastors the most, I think, are not the pockets of elderly and vulnerable who have not returned. What has caught us off-guard is that for every person who hasn’t yet returned there is likely a unique reason for not yet returning. This has given me pause, and inspired me to ask a question for myself.

If I were not a pastor, would I be attending an in-person service on Sunday AM? Why would I come?

To hear the preaching of the Word? I can do that online.

To join in corporate worship? I can sing along with the band and my family. Does that count?

To be around other believers? Six feet of social distancing makes it difficult to do much more than a wave and a “how you doing?” shout. I can just as easily engage through a text message.

To exercise my spiritual gift? I can teach my Sunday school class on Zoom. I can send encouraging messages through Facebook. Do I need a Sunday AM to exercise that gift? Can’t I serve and do missions without being physically present on a Sunday AM?

What is there at the physical gathering that I cannot do at home? Corporate worship isn’t the same, I’ll give you that. But why do I need to show up whenever it’s a hotbed of controversy? For some people, wearing a mask is a symbol of being a leftist or a fraidy-cat who doesn’t have faith. For others, not wearing a mask is a symbol of being a right-wing conspiracy theorist who cares more about themselves than other people. I’d argue few people fit either description, but still, the question remains. Why bother coming when your mere presence will offend somebody?

Because there is no such thing as mere presence.

There is something which the generations preceding me understood that I believe has been lost upon my generation. And that is the power of showing up.

There are two areas here where our generation has swung the pendulum too far in an opposite direction. First, in regards to the importance of a gathered body. I think there was an overemphasis in the past on the church building. One of my greatest pet peeves was when someone would here a teen say one of those banned words and the response would be, “hey, you cannot say that here in God’s house”. I think that’s a misunderstanding of the nature of the temple and the new covenant community. BUT, we responded with a complete deemphasis of the sacred gathering. There is something special about the local gathering of the body of Christ. There is something to sacred space where God’s Word is opened and the gospel is preached.

Secondly, there were families wrecked years ago by ministers of the gospel who felt they (and their entire family) had to be physically in the church building every time the doors were opened. There developed a somewhat legalistic checking of boxes on church attendance. BUT, we responded with a complete deemphasis of the power of personal presence. There is something powerful about you being there.

I can’t seem to keep Bonhoeffer’s Life Together on my shelves during this season. I keep pulling it down and reading it. The longer we find ourselves with our communities ever transforming due to COVID-19, the more I’m finding depth in his words. Consider this:

The prisoner, the sick person, the Christian in exile sees in the companionship of a fellow Christian a physical sign of the gracious presence of the triune God. Visitor and visited in loneliness recognize in each other the Christ who is present in the body; they receive and meet each other as one meets the Lord, in reverence, humility, and joy. They receive each other’s benedictions as the benediction of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Bonhoeffer, 10)

What Bonhoeffer is alluding to here is the fact that each believer is in union with Christ and has the Spirit of God residing within. There is power—Christ within you—by you just showing up.

My Answer

So this is my answer as to why, even if I weren’t a pastor and didn’t have any particular job to do, I would still show up on Sunday morning as long as I was able. It is because I believe that Christ is within me and I believe my brothers and sisters in Christ need that Christ within me. There is power in my presence—because it’s a symbol of the very real presence of Jesus Christ among us.

And so, and please hear me well, I want to show up because to not do so would be to diminish Christ. I know some could read that and say, “what about those who cannot attend?!?!? You are making them feel horrible for something which they cannot control.” This is my response. Whether it be because of conscience or health concerns, my aim here is to give words to the very pain which you feel. I’m sharing why we mourn with you that you cannot gather with us. Fellowship with other believers is a precious gift. You know this deeply and it’s why you ache, and toss and turn, and feel as if something deeply important is missing in your life. It’s because it is.

As Bonhoeffer said it is “an unspeakable gift of God” but also one which is “easily trodden under foot by those who have the gift every day.” COVID-19 has given all of us an opportunity to mourn with our shut-ins. It has widened that number and opened our eyes to the value of in-person gathering. And the deep mourning which accompanies no longer being able to gather.

But this is also why I feel a deep conviction, as long as I am able, to gather with the body of Christ. To not gather, to treat it as some insignificant thing, to consider it an option to my walk with Christ, would be to trample under foot the gift of the presence of Christ in the life of another believer. I’ll admit it was wonderful for a few weeks to wake up on a Sunday morning, smelly breath, wild hair, still in my pj’s and “gather” online with other Christians. But for me to continue to do this by choice when the church is gathering, would be to value the comfort of my Wal-Mart bought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle jammies over the blood-bought community of the living God.

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How the Fear of Death Forces You Into Binary Choices and How the Gospel Rescues Us

Mike Leake

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“and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery”. –Hebrews 2:15

Here the author of Hebrews is showing how Christ became a man, identified with humanity, and died such a death that the one who held the power of death was ultimately defeated. He delivered us not only from the devil’s reign but also the fear of death which leads to slavery. This leads to a question. How does fear of death lead to lifelong slavery?

I think we get a clue in the OT passages the author quotes right before this verse. He pulls two quotes from Isaiah 8, which is in the context of Isaiah’s “Book of Immanuel.”

The Story of Ahaz

In Isaiah 7 we meet King Ahaz. He’s a young dude at this point, likely in his twenties and he’s leading the nation of Judah. The season in which he was called upon to reign certainly wasn’t a cake walk. Assyria was the big dog at this point in history and they were moving westward. This westward expansion caused Israel (the northern kingdom) and Syria to get antsy. They encourage Judah to join them…but their way of encouragement was to move their troops to the border an flex their muscles and say, “join us or you’re going to have problems”.

We read in Isaiah 7:3, “the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.” It’s a scary decision and one demanding the king’s attention. You HAVE to do something Ahaz! On to the scene comes Isaiah the prophet with a word from the Lord for Ahaz. “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint b/c of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands.” What God is saying to him is, “trust me. Don’t do anything. Don’t fight them. Don’t cater to them. Don’t join with Assyria. Just do nothing but trust me.”

Let’s put ourselves in Ahaz’s sandals for a moment. What do you think his fears are in this moment? The big one is likely death, right? Or at least that he’ll follow in the footsteps of other kings who end up getting their thumbs cut off and have to become slaves of another nation.

But there are other fears in there too, right? You know that his legacy has to be rumbling around somewhere in the background. The pressure of him being the leader is huge. Others are depending on him. And he has a reputation to uphold. Does he want to be the guy known for being defeated by Syria and Israel? There’s all those common things present in his heart, I can almost guarantee it. Shame. The things that pride makes you do. Fear of dying. Fear of the unknown. Fear of suffering. Desires for comfort. Desire for reputation. All of that weighs on this decision.

“Trust me,” says the Lord.

What is happening to Ahaz in this moment is that the national question is driving him into a binary choice. Do we join with Israel/Syria? Do we join with Assyria? He can only see those two options and his fear of death is the barometer by which he weighs his options. It is this fear of death which leads to the lifelong slavery the author of Hebrews is talking about. This type of fear cuts off hope because it keeps your eyes on the binary choices of now and blinds you to the gospel’s third way.

You can see this with how Ahaz’s story plays out. God offers Ahaz rest, rule, and relationship and Ahaz rejected it and went after the tangible power of Assyria. So he went into alliance with them. Paid a hefty tribute to them—that means sent them lots of money and valuables. And in doing this he also restructured the temple. Took out elements and put in stuff to the Assyrian gods. He even ended up sacrificing children to the gods of the Assyrians. Cause..safety.

It was fear. We’ve got to preserve Judah. We’ve got to stay in comfort. We’ve got to keep our power. It’s him trying to run from death and he sees that Assyria can help him do it. And Ahaz has the same stuff within him that is present in our hearts as well. That same fear can drive you and I to do similar things. Assyria didn’t look all nasty and have horns growing out of it. It seemed wise. It seemed politically shrewd. He likely even glossed it over with some religious language…we see him doing that later in Isaiah 7. Here is Ahaz trying to get back Psalm 8 rule but it does the opposite. I don’t know if he even consciously realizes that he’s saying, “we don’t want your kingdom, God.” But he does. And he ends up enslaving himself and his people.

How the Gospel Rescues

This is, however, the lifelong slavery that Hebrews 2:15 says Jesus has rescued us from. And so we ought to be people of profound hope because our no longer fearing death rescues us from binary choices of the present.

When we realize that death is no longer something to fear it allows us to have hope even in the present. It would have allowed Ahaz to consider simply trusting in the Lord—even if somehow it led to their death at least he would have been obedient to God. He could still have had hope because he would realize that God’s presence would be with him in Assyrian captivity or if Israel/Syria attacked. God’s presence and pleasure would have been the barometer rather than fear.

We would do well to learn this lesson. We are so often driven by the national questions of each day—and they are gauged by the barometer of fear. Fear of death doesn’t simply mean the fear of no longer having oxygen. It’s also fear of my way of life being taken away. But the accomplishment of Jesus has rescued us from this slavery.

We should live free.

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And the possibility that many will read this and think I’m talking about wearing a mask (or not wearing a mask) and social distancing and such shows just how far beholden we are to the national question of each day.

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Rehoboam’s “Okay, Boomer”

Mike Leake

photo-1580598302731-b98fbf7191a5Rehoboam had just been crowned the new king. And he is met with a list of demands from an important constituency in his empire. Lift our burdens and we’ll serve you.

A newly called pastor is met by an important constituency within the church. Their list of demands is really them asking, “How are you going to lead us, pastor?” Will you lead from a place of power or a place of service?

Just as Rehoboam had a choice, so also does the new pastor. And just as Rehoboam did, a wise pastor will gather counsel to himself. But hopefully, he learns to listen a bit differently than the failed king.

Rehoboam talked with the elders of his kingdom. These would have been the guys who had served with King Solomon. Their words, not surprisingly, are dripping with wisdom. They’ve clearly read—or lived—the book of Proverbs. “A gentle answer will turn away wrath.” Lead gently and the hearts of these people will be yours.

Rehoboam also talked with his peer group. “What do we want to do with these demands?” Notice the difference in pronouns. His question to the elders was “you” and here he’s speaking from within the group—they are a “we”. Their answer is much different. And it’s vulgar. They encourage him to lead from a place of power.

Guess which one he picked?

He picked the harsh counsel of his younger peers and he pushed them into the rule of the waiting Jeroboam. It was foolishness for him to respond this way and to reject such wisdom.

This isn’t merely about age groups as much as it is a call to follow the marks of wisdom. Ryken is correct:

Older people are not always wiser, of course, but often they are, and the relative age of these men commands our respect, as it should have commanded the respect of Rehoboam. As Solomon said in one of his famous proverbs, “gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life” (Prov. 16:31). Therefore, it is wise for us to listen to our elders. That was especially true in this case because these men had served under Solomon, who was the wisest of all earthly kings.

Wisdom isn’t insecure. That’s why wisdom is able to pick the humble, quiet, and long-plodding path. Those who are insecure always choose the path of force. And let’s face it, we younger pastors are prone to insecurity. If we aren’t intentional about slaying this beast we will gather to ourselves godless counsel to buttress our insecurities.

“Ok, boomer” isn’t the path of wisdom. 

So if you’re a younger pastor it would do you well to find some older and wiser saints to help you lead from a place of service instead of a place of power.

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Don’t Miss the Real Issue

Mike Leake

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“I do not believe that God should care what two consenting adults do in their own bedrooms”.

You are tasked with helping this person develop a healthy sexual ethic. How do you respond to this?

First, you need to understand the specific nature of this objection. Are they saying, “I don’t believe Jesus teaches this…” or are they saying, “I believe Jesus teaches this but I don’t agree with him.” If it’s the former, then your first step is to search the Scriptures together and develop a healthy sexual ethic.

Let’s say, though, that it’s actually the latter view. They believe that the Bible does in fact teach that but they don’t agree with it. What do you do?

One option is to find resources which will put together arguments to show why a biblical sexual ethic is actually good for them to embrace. Our middle school assemblies were filled with these points. We were given scare speeches about STD’s. And when I became a Christian, groups like True Love Waits filled in some of those gaps and promised great marital sex for those who waited. 

Let’s imagine that this person is convinced of the arguments and now decides that it will give her a much better life to embrace a biblical sexual ethic. Did you do your job? Have you won her over?

I would argue that you haven’t. And this, I would argue, is why young people are “leaving the faith” in droves. Our counsel has not actually dealt with root issues. Let me explain.

She came into this discussion with an idea that “it doesn’t matter what two people do in their own bedrooms”. You gave her a resource that changed her idea to something like this: “it is better for our sexuality for two people to follow God’s rules”. But the root issue was never dealt with. She is still being driven by “her idea”. Her authority structure never changed. She just changed opinions and you helped her change those opinions. This is no different than your housecat. House cats never actually obey. They just on occasion agree with you.

And this is why folks are abandoning biblical sexual ethics altogether after they painfully realize the overpromises from Christian purity culture. For many, it wasn’t about submission to Christ it was more about submission to Christ as a means to something else. And when that “something else” collapses so does the argument which led them to embrace biblical sexual ethics.

“…do in their own bedrooms.”

That’s the core issue. It’s not their own bedrooms. Our bodies belong to the Lord. I agree with Lore Wilbert in her book Handle With Care:

What would have been more helpful for me at twelve years old, as well as fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, or thirty was to understand my fidelity was not primarily to my future spouse or to a purity movement. My fidelity was to the God who made my body for my good and His glory. (149)

Christ has authority of our bodies. And it doesn’t really matter if I fully understand or totally agree with what he is saying about sexuality. I obey His Word because not only is Jesus the authority over me but also because I trust him more than I trust my own ideas. (See also Rules Without Reasons). If his view confronts my own—I change my view, not the other way around. And until that heart change happens convincing someone of our arguments is just delaying an inevitable rebellion.

The great battle for humanity isn’t so much, “do I agree with Christ?” but rather “do I trust Christ more than myself”. There is a great deal of difference between those two. And our discipleship needs to be foundationally geared towards the latter.

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