A month ago, we had our annual church awayday and what a great day we had: lovely food; great fellowship; fine weather; and good teaching. In fact, the teaching we received on ‘The Seven Signs of a Healthy Church’ struck a chord with a lot of us – everyone I spoke to during the day, and afterwards, said how helpful it was. And so, over the coming summer Sunday mornings, I’ll be taking a look at each ‘sign’ in turn and asking you to think more deeply about it in the week that follows. By next Sunday there will also be a website set up onto which I will put each week’s sermon and which will provide a facility to leave comments – more about that next week. The idea is that, as a church, we will examine and review how effectively we are serving God in this town and discuss how we might be more effective.
This morning, we’re going to look at the first of those signs of a healthy church: that is, ‘a healthy church is energised by faith’. It needs to be the first we look at because it is from the energy of the church’s faith that its health flows.
The truth of that premise is really well illustrated in the New Testament writings of the apostles. So, for instance, if we turn our attention to the Book of Revelation, we read in chapter 3 that Jesus speaks directly to a congregation in the town of Laodicea and what He says isn’t very complimentary:
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
The faith of many of the Christians at Laodicea had gone off the boil: they had become complacent, there was no real energy within the church for sharing the good news about Jesus Christ and, as a result, the spiritual health of the fellowship was suffering. Where enthusiasm for the gospel has dulled, and where excitement for the Christian faith has waned, there will be little energy shown within the fellowship and the health of the church will inevitably deteriorate. That is as true today as it was when John first wrote the Book of Revelation
Elsewhere in the New Testament, we find a church community that has lots of energy, but it turns out to be energy that is misdirected. I’m talking, of course, of the church at Corinth to which the Apostle Paul writes.
The church at Corinth was undoubtedly a lively fellowship, but the energy it displayed seems to have emerged not from commitment to God and godly living, but from a very evident cliquishness, from an underlying selfishness, and from an attitude of one-upmanship. Paul tells them off in no uncertain terms for being divided – he has no time for one person saying, “I follow Paul”; while another says “I follow Apollos”; and, yet someone else says, “I follow Cephas”, etc. He also rebukes them for their behaviour at the Lord’s Supper, which had become a bit of a free-for-all, and he berates them for their misuse of spiritual gifts.
Paul was at pains to impress upon them the fact that God alone was the source of their faith and God alone was the one they must honour – the energy that they were displaying originated from their own selfish desires and, indeed, was misdirected towards satisfying those desires.
Even today, it’s easy to see how some churches’ energy can originate not from a healthy source, but an unhelpful one, and be misdirected towards something inappropriate. As Robert Warren, an Anglican priest who first came up with these ‘Seven Signs of a Healthy Church’, observes:
“(e)nergy may come from a desire to keep a medieval building in good condition, from having the best set of bell-ringers for miles, or from wanting to boast the finest choral tradition in the town. Energy can also come from making sure ‘our group’ keeps control. Equally, energy may come simply from a desire to keep things as they are, or just keeping things going.
In itself, it’s not a bad thing to keep a church building in good repair, or to be resolved to keep things going – on the contrary, these are highly commendable things to do – but none of these things should form the basis for church life. The basis for the existence, and the faith, of a local congregation has to be the immeasurable love of God for the world which was revealed in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is from this wonderful truth that each and every local church should draw its energy – yes, and it’s from this fact that our determination to serve God within the world should emerge.
Of course, there are also examples in the New Testament of local fellowships who were energised by their faith in the Lord and their love for others. So, for instance, Paul praises the Christians at Philippi for their generosity towards him, when he was in great need; and, in Revelation, Jesus commends the church at Philadelphia for standing firm in the face of persecution.
So, we can see clearly in the word of God that a healthy church is energised by a faith in God and by a desire to glorify Him alone – without that sort of faith and that sort of desire, a fellowship will not enjoy good health.
But, in reality, what do churches that are energised by faith look like?
Well, first of all, it seems that churches that are energised by faith …
enable people to experience God’s love
When healthy fellowships gather for worship each Sunday, they do so because they want to encounter the presence of God and, within them, there’s an air of expectancy and excitement at the prospect of meeting with God.
In healthy churches, there’s as much emphasis on providing times of silence as there is upon lively times of praise and worship in music. For many, silence can seem a little daunting, but it’s in the silence that we most clearly hear God’s voice speaking to us and are confronted with who we are. It really is no coincidence that, in the Gospels, we’re often told that Jesus went off to secluded, silent places to be with His heavenly Father. Healthy churches value and promote times of silence during worship and we will be doing that here.
Healthy churches also allow people space to share their testimonies and tell their own stories, recognising that God guides and encourages His church through what He’s doing in the lives of other believers. It’s so powerful to hear how God is blessing us and how He’s moving in people’s lives, so we need to provide opportunities for that to happen. If you have a testimony to God’s grace and provision that you would like to share with the church, do speak to me prior to Sunday morning and I’ll try to give you time.
Another thing is that healthy congregations are able to express joy at the goodness and greatness of God and to identify with the pain and brokenness of the world around them – there is a place for both laughter and tears in the house of God.
The second point I want to make is that churches that are energised by faith …
demonstrate a deep desire to serve God and one another
Of course, this desire reflects the two greatest commandments that Jesus identified: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind” and “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
Where people have this genuine, heartfelt desire to serve God and one another, there is an almost tangible sense of eagerness to do just that. I can honestly say that I do detect that sense of eagerness here at BBC, which is one of the reasons why I felt God was calling me here to be minister.
In a healthy church it’s not just a very small group of people which does all the work – everyone is keen to contribute and participate, using the gifts that God has given them. This is a message that Paul was keen to convey in several of his letters to churches: he told them that they were all part of one body; they were all gifted by God for His service; and, although they were quite different from one another, they needed one another and had one purpose … to glorify God. If you feel this desire to serve God and the fellowship, don’t feel shy, don’t hesitate, come and talk with me, or one of the deacons and we will explore together how that might be possible.
The third point this morning is that churches that are energised by faith …
engage closely with the Bible
Healthy churches recognise the Bible as the written word of God and seek to apply it to contemporary life in ways which people understand and find useful. Psalm 119 describes God’s word as “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” – and it still is! So, as the Church of the twenty-first century, we have a duty to show how God’s word is relevant to people today, so we need to be prepared to wrestle with it ourselves and then to be imaginative in how we explain it to others.
In his book, Robert Warren describes how one church “explored the issue of stress from a Biblical perspective and came up with some ‘stress-buster’ exercises’ (meditations), which are now used by many in that church.”
The Bible has an incredible amount to contribute to modern living and healthy churches both recognise that fact and do something about it.
Finally, it seems that churches that are energised by faith, in turn, …
nurture faith in Christ
One of the central tasks of healthy churches is to help people to grow in, and share, their faith. When you come to think of it, that’s exactly what Jesus Himself did during His earthly ministry: He called twelve disciples – of course, the word ‘disciples’ means ‘learners’ – and He nurtured their faith and taught them how to share that faith with other people. He took time out to teach them what it says in Scripture; He taught them how to pray; He showed them the importance of spending time away from the hustle and bustle of ministry to spend quality time with God.
And so, churches that are energised by faith do exactly what they see their Lord doing in the Bible: they nurture disciples by teaching them every Sunday what the word of God says; by teaching them how to pray; by providing discipleship courses and house groups; by organising awaydays and other retreats. Healthy churches, then, are churches which are energised by faith.
But there is so much more to it than that: in future weeks we will see (amongst other things) that healthy churches have an outward-looking focus; that they seek to find out what God wants; and they face the cost of change and growth.
And our guide throughout this process will be the Bible, the written word of God, because all these things are fundamentally biblical principles.
To God be the glory. Amen.
This morning, we’re going to look at the first of those signs of a healthy church: that is, ‘a healthy church is energised by faith’. It needs to be the first we look at because it is from the energy of the church’s faith that its health flows.
The truth of that premise is really well illustrated in the New Testament writings of the apostles. So, for instance, if we turn our attention to the Book of Revelation, we read in chapter 3 that Jesus speaks directly to a congregation in the town of Laodicea and what He says isn’t very complimentary:
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
The faith of many of the Christians at Laodicea had gone off the boil: they had become complacent, there was no real energy within the church for sharing the good news about Jesus Christ and, as a result, the spiritual health of the fellowship was suffering. Where enthusiasm for the gospel has dulled, and where excitement for the Christian faith has waned, there will be little energy shown within the fellowship and the health of the church will inevitably deteriorate. That is as true today as it was when John first wrote the Book of Revelation
Elsewhere in the New Testament, we find a church community that has lots of energy, but it turns out to be energy that is misdirected. I’m talking, of course, of the church at Corinth to which the Apostle Paul writes.
The church at Corinth was undoubtedly a lively fellowship, but the energy it displayed seems to have emerged not from commitment to God and godly living, but from a very evident cliquishness, from an underlying selfishness, and from an attitude of one-upmanship. Paul tells them off in no uncertain terms for being divided – he has no time for one person saying, “I follow Paul”; while another says “I follow Apollos”; and, yet someone else says, “I follow Cephas”, etc. He also rebukes them for their behaviour at the Lord’s Supper, which had become a bit of a free-for-all, and he berates them for their misuse of spiritual gifts.
Paul was at pains to impress upon them the fact that God alone was the source of their faith and God alone was the one they must honour – the energy that they were displaying originated from their own selfish desires and, indeed, was misdirected towards satisfying those desires.
Even today, it’s easy to see how some churches’ energy can originate not from a healthy source, but an unhelpful one, and be misdirected towards something inappropriate. As Robert Warren, an Anglican priest who first came up with these ‘Seven Signs of a Healthy Church’, observes:
“(e)nergy may come from a desire to keep a medieval building in good condition, from having the best set of bell-ringers for miles, or from wanting to boast the finest choral tradition in the town. Energy can also come from making sure ‘our group’ keeps control. Equally, energy may come simply from a desire to keep things as they are, or just keeping things going.
In itself, it’s not a bad thing to keep a church building in good repair, or to be resolved to keep things going – on the contrary, these are highly commendable things to do – but none of these things should form the basis for church life. The basis for the existence, and the faith, of a local congregation has to be the immeasurable love of God for the world which was revealed in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is from this wonderful truth that each and every local church should draw its energy – yes, and it’s from this fact that our determination to serve God within the world should emerge.
Of course, there are also examples in the New Testament of local fellowships who were energised by their faith in the Lord and their love for others. So, for instance, Paul praises the Christians at Philippi for their generosity towards him, when he was in great need; and, in Revelation, Jesus commends the church at Philadelphia for standing firm in the face of persecution.
So, we can see clearly in the word of God that a healthy church is energised by a faith in God and by a desire to glorify Him alone – without that sort of faith and that sort of desire, a fellowship will not enjoy good health.
But, in reality, what do churches that are energised by faith look like?
Well, first of all, it seems that churches that are energised by faith …
enable people to experience God’s love
When healthy fellowships gather for worship each Sunday, they do so because they want to encounter the presence of God and, within them, there’s an air of expectancy and excitement at the prospect of meeting with God.
In healthy churches, there’s as much emphasis on providing times of silence as there is upon lively times of praise and worship in music. For many, silence can seem a little daunting, but it’s in the silence that we most clearly hear God’s voice speaking to us and are confronted with who we are. It really is no coincidence that, in the Gospels, we’re often told that Jesus went off to secluded, silent places to be with His heavenly Father. Healthy churches value and promote times of silence during worship and we will be doing that here.
Healthy churches also allow people space to share their testimonies and tell their own stories, recognising that God guides and encourages His church through what He’s doing in the lives of other believers. It’s so powerful to hear how God is blessing us and how He’s moving in people’s lives, so we need to provide opportunities for that to happen. If you have a testimony to God’s grace and provision that you would like to share with the church, do speak to me prior to Sunday morning and I’ll try to give you time.
Another thing is that healthy congregations are able to express joy at the goodness and greatness of God and to identify with the pain and brokenness of the world around them – there is a place for both laughter and tears in the house of God.
The second point I want to make is that churches that are energised by faith …
demonstrate a deep desire to serve God and one another
Of course, this desire reflects the two greatest commandments that Jesus identified: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind” and “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
Where people have this genuine, heartfelt desire to serve God and one another, there is an almost tangible sense of eagerness to do just that. I can honestly say that I do detect that sense of eagerness here at BBC, which is one of the reasons why I felt God was calling me here to be minister.
In a healthy church it’s not just a very small group of people which does all the work – everyone is keen to contribute and participate, using the gifts that God has given them. This is a message that Paul was keen to convey in several of his letters to churches: he told them that they were all part of one body; they were all gifted by God for His service; and, although they were quite different from one another, they needed one another and had one purpose … to glorify God. If you feel this desire to serve God and the fellowship, don’t feel shy, don’t hesitate, come and talk with me, or one of the deacons and we will explore together how that might be possible.
The third point this morning is that churches that are energised by faith …
engage closely with the Bible
Healthy churches recognise the Bible as the written word of God and seek to apply it to contemporary life in ways which people understand and find useful. Psalm 119 describes God’s word as “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” – and it still is! So, as the Church of the twenty-first century, we have a duty to show how God’s word is relevant to people today, so we need to be prepared to wrestle with it ourselves and then to be imaginative in how we explain it to others.
In his book, Robert Warren describes how one church “explored the issue of stress from a Biblical perspective and came up with some ‘stress-buster’ exercises’ (meditations), which are now used by many in that church.”
The Bible has an incredible amount to contribute to modern living and healthy churches both recognise that fact and do something about it.
Finally, it seems that churches that are energised by faith, in turn, …
nurture faith in Christ
One of the central tasks of healthy churches is to help people to grow in, and share, their faith. When you come to think of it, that’s exactly what Jesus Himself did during His earthly ministry: He called twelve disciples – of course, the word ‘disciples’ means ‘learners’ – and He nurtured their faith and taught them how to share that faith with other people. He took time out to teach them what it says in Scripture; He taught them how to pray; He showed them the importance of spending time away from the hustle and bustle of ministry to spend quality time with God.
And so, churches that are energised by faith do exactly what they see their Lord doing in the Bible: they nurture disciples by teaching them every Sunday what the word of God says; by teaching them how to pray; by providing discipleship courses and house groups; by organising awaydays and other retreats. Healthy churches, then, are churches which are energised by faith.
But there is so much more to it than that: in future weeks we will see (amongst other things) that healthy churches have an outward-looking focus; that they seek to find out what God wants; and they face the cost of change and growth.
And our guide throughout this process will be the Bible, the written word of God, because all these things are fundamentally biblical principles.
To God be the glory. Amen.
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