A 20/20 VISION FOR THE YEAR 2020: SIGNS OF HEALTHY CHURCH
1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-27
INTRO:
What is a healthy church?
• How can you tell one when you see it?
• How does it look different from other churches?
• How does it act differently from other churches?
We used social media and email this week to ask you a similar question: “How can you tell, in less than 60 seconds, that a church is healthy?” And you gave some wonderful answers. I have combined and compiled some responses that were repetitious.
• By the smiles on people's faces and the warmth and enthusiasm with which you are greeted when you enter the door and also in the sanctuary. Not only friends, but guests.
• Relational warmth, and enthusiasm
• A willingness to grow spiritually
• If there is Unity, Love and Excitement.
• Answered prayers
• You can sense the presence of the Holy Spirit
• Having a venue for people to plug in on their first arrival.
• If its members share the responsibility of outreach and teaching the children.
• There is evidence that they love one another
• The focus of the church is not on itself but on others.
• Proclaiming the gospel in both word and deed.
• The needs of our people are being met by others (laymen), before we can even volunteer.
• The staff is a support for the church.
• By how the members speak to and about each other.
• By how the members welcome/accept visitors that are different from the majority demographic of the congregation (i.e., visitors outside their “comfort zone”)
• Paying bills and obligations on time
• The church is growing in attendance
• New people are coming to salvation in Christ
• People are engaged in the ministry.
• People are friendly and speak to me.
• There are signs of mission involvement and evangelism.
• Actual participation in activities and events other than Sunday service.
• There's an air of expectancy.
• The church has children.
• A variety of age groups.
• In the parking lot and at the front door, servants are showing me Jesus in their very actions.
Good answers. Thank you for participating.
I have asked myself this question (What is a healthy church?) a lot over the years. As a pastor it is important for me to be able to answer it accurately. I think there are many indicators of a healthy church but, this morning, I want to place them into four big categories.
For me, the image of a healthy human gives helpful insight.
Signs of a healthy person include:
1. A Good Immune System -- The capacity to ward off (and heal from) disease and germs
2. Emotional Wellbeing -- A positive outlook toward the future; a realistic sense of anticipation and expectation about what lies ahead
3. Relational Stability – the capacity to function within society; the ability to develop and maintain healthy relationships.
4. Proper Physiological Development / Maturity – the ability to perform the tasks that a person of a certain age is expected to perform (i.e. reproduction, normative motor skills, etc.)
I think these four big categories have transferable applications from the human body to the body of Christ, the church. Let’s read 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
So …
• What is a healthy church?
• How can you tell one when you see it?
• How does it look different from other churches?
• How does it act differently from other churches?
Let’s consider the four signs of a healthy person and see if there is transfer to the Body of Christ. But let me give you a hint as to what I think you’ll see this morning … the real element that makes a church spiritually healthy … it’s a spiritually healthy YOU!
Signs of a healthy (local) “Body of Christ” include:
1. A GOOD IMMUNE SYSTEM
Just as the human body has the capacity to ward off (and heal from) disease and germs so too does Jesus’ church. Sin, with its various forms and the consequences, is viral. It spreads and infects. It is insatiable and never satisfied.
A healthy church has a good immune system that detects, defends against, and can heal from sin and its fallout. Just as there are certain things one can do to bolster their immune system, there are things we can do to bolster our spiritual defenses. The Bible is clear on that.
• The Armor of God in Ephesians 6 serves this purpose
• The book of 2 Peter applauds spiritual discipline and tells us to methodically and intentionally grow spiritually … 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. … 10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall (2 Peter chapter 1)
The summary is that an intimate and growing walk with God bolsters the spiritual immune system. That is why we unapologetically encourage (and dare I say expect) God’s people to grow, to nurture a relationship with the Holy Spirit, and live a lifestyle exemplified in the fruit of the Spirit.
Derek (not his real name) approached me one Sunday after church. He confessed that he was being overcome with temptation and surrendered to it far more often than he resisted. He said he just didn’t seem to have the defense mechanism to catch the temptation in time and, almost always, after surrendering, caught himself asking, “How did that happen again!?”
I began to meet with Derek on a weekly basis. He began to see sin as a predator that would never be content until Derek was consumed and defeated. I helped him see the need for regular “inoculations” to defeat the temptations.
Derek began to read the Word regularly, to keep a journal (which helped him see the patterns of the temptation), and I soon handed him off to an accountability partner that, to this day, helps him grow spiritually.
It took some intentional action steps towards wholeness for Derek to overcome the defeated and habitual patterns of sin he had fallen into. But today, Derek lives a life of victory and joy.
You, like Derek, may need to take some intentional steps to bolster your immune system and safeguard yourself from sin. And Peter gives a wonderful promise to us in the brief passage I read earlier … “For if you do these things, you will never fall.”
A healthy church is a church with a good immune system. It also has:
2. EMOTIONAL WELLBEING
A healthy human body has a generally positive outlook toward the future; it has a realistic sense of anticipation and expectation about what lies ahead. There is a sense of gratitude and generosity as well.
Does this not also describe a church with good health? We are driven by vision; we aspire to a preferred future.
Our worship of the living and loving God and our focus on Jesus Christ as Lord reframes every arena of life. It gives a new and renewed understanding of our world and our place in it.
A healthy church is an active church that is not to simply generating activity for activity’s sake but, rather, feels a sense of destiny and is moving towards a divinely imparted goal. A healthy church understands the potential of spiritual gifts; they know their own particular endowments and use them to serve God and other people.
In a couple of weeks we will be offering an opportunity for you to discover your spiritual gifts (or have them reaffirmed). We will be finishing our Wednesday night lessons very soon and will take advantage of the opened time slot for this very important opportunity.
As we worship and serve within our strengths we, like a person with emotional wellbeing, will be more suited to adapt and adopt effective strategies and methods to carry out the Great Commission.
Do you know the gifts and strengths that God has given you for ministry? Do you use them for His glory?
People who use God’s spiritual gifts have the pleasure of seeing the ministry produce spiritual fruit and also have a sense of satisfaction and intimacy. If that doesn’t describe you then there is no time like the present for you to choose health and begin cooperating with and using the strengths God has given you.
A healthy church is a church with a good immune system and a sense of well-being. It also has:
3. RELATIONAL STABILITY
Just as a healthy person has relational stability giving them the capacity to function within society and develop / maintain healthy relationships. So does Jesus’ church.
Hear me … we may not be “of” the world but we are still “in” the world. And the world watches how we treat each other as well as how we interact with it. The “One Another” passages of Scripture are not just there to give preachers a clever sermon series – they are there to direct our lives in community together. It is as we do things like serve one another, prefer one another above ourselves, pray for one another, bear one another’s burdens, and encourage one another that the on-looking world can say “Behold how they love one another!” (John 13:15).
That, my friends, is why small groups are so very very important. It is in such a gathering that we build deep authentic relationships. I want to strongly encourage each one of you to participate in a Bible study or small group regularly. It may be a Sunday morning Sunday School type small group, a week night home group, or a Wednesday evening Bible study but we need each other and the potential that these relationship have to enrich your life cannot be calculated.
God did not design you to walk in solitude … He designed you to be in relationships. You will not be fully whole and fully happy until you are nurturing good friendships. You hurt yourself when you do otherwise.
Are you in a small group? There is no excuse not to be. Until you are you cannot be spiritually healthy and until you are WE cannot be spiritually healthy because you see, even if you don’t think you need us … we need you.
A healthy church is a church with a good immune system, a sense of well-being and relational stability. And finally, it also has:
4. PROPER PHYSIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT / MATURITY
A healthy person has the ability to perform the tasks that its season of life is expected to perform. They vary from age to age. My 6 month old grandson just had a wellness check this past week. The pediatrician told Craig and Val that Charlie is doing the things that a 6 month old ought to do: his eye and hand coordination is where it should be, his eyesight is where it should be, he can turn over and scoot towards a desired object etc.
There are benchmarks for each season of a person’s life and there are physiological things that we should be able to do at each age.
The body of Christ has some particular activities that it should be characterized by too.
For example: reproduction. As a healthy Christian you should be producing spiritual fruit. The Bible calls this “The fruit of the Spirit.” Your life should be characterized more and more by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
A healthy church should be reproducing too. It will be taking the Great Commission seriously. It will be looking for ways to reach the lost and help them grow into Christ-like disciples. At present we are seeking God’s face for clearer direction regarding this very thing.
• We meet together and pray (like we will this Monday night), we ask God to remove barriers, open doors, and give us the courage to obey the Great Commission.
• We have created an exploratory team looking into a day care or preschool. This may or may not materialize in the months or years to come but we are seeking God’s direction and looking for effective ways to touch the young families in our community.
• We are planning special Sunday emphasis days like “Family Photo Sunday” (February) where we can invite our family and friends to come have a family portrait made … for free … just by attending church with us and meeting new friends and being introduced to our Savior.
• In January and February we will be stressing the importance of each of us becoming “personal evangelists.” I think one of the things the church has lost is the art of “closing the deal” – the art of helping someone actually make a decision to follow Christ. We will begin to train you and encourage you to become personal evangelists.
There are even more ways a healthy church reproduces aren’t there? We should also be producing a new generation of servant-ministers who sense a clear and effective calling in ministry. In fact, we have one here with us today. Jill * is home from the orphanage she serves at in Benin. She is a product of a fruitful and healthy church. She is the next generation and she is now using her spiritual gifts to bring another generation into the Kingdom.
Jill, please come and give greetings to your spiritual family.
But there are even MORE ways that we can reproduce aren’t there? There are always more ways to be discovered in following God and carrying out the Great Commission. And another comes to fruition this morning. We have been praying for months now that God would open more doors to us in our community. God has answered that request and as we are faithful in that calling He will open even more doors.
It is my privilege to introduce you to Pastor Alturo and his wife Rocio. Alturo is the newest member of the pastoral staff. He is a lay-pastor and proven church planter and he will use B.A. Nazarene as a home base to minister to the Hispanic population of Broken Arrow and eventually Bixby and Coweta.
Pastor Alturo, please come give greetings to your new spiritual family.
Our congregation’s spiritual health is what makes it possible for us open our doors to Pastor Alturo and his Hispanic congregation to minister in Broken Arrow and introduce our Spanish speaking neighbors to Jesus Christ.
When we close our service this morning we will be asking Alturo, Rocio and these who are part of his present congregation to make their way to the altar. As they do you will be invited to join them, surround them, and we will pray for their ministry; which begins here this evening.
WRAP-UP
So what makes for a healthy church? I hope that though these four big categories you saw the real element that makes a church spiritually healthy … it’s a spiritually healthy YOU!
1. A Good Immune System
2. Emotional Wellbeing
3. Relational Stability
4. Proper Physiological Development / Maturity
These big categories go far in helping us be the church that Jesus Christ created us to be. And they fuel our responses. As you know, we are receiving pledges today to help replenish our capital improvements fund and posture us to do more to carry out the Great Commission. We will use these allocations as seed money for ministry tools like:
• A people-mover that can transport our children, our senior adults, those with physical challenges, and those who need a way to get to church.
• A children’s playground
• Some improvements in our sanctuary and other facilities
All of which help us communicate the Gospel and care for people.
It is because we see a preferred future that we make these pledges today.
It is because we want God to use us for His Kingdom’s work that we make these pledges today.
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This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
First Church of the Nazarene
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
www.banazarene.org
