Lesson #3: People or Programs

Here we are continuing a series on the lessons learned (although not necessarily new lessons) throughout the past two and a half years in Seminary. If you need to catch up you can go here, here, and here for the previous three posts.

I have done much pondering and thinking on my education and how it has and has not prepared me for ministry. It seems as if people are on either side of the argument in regards to a seminary education as preparation for full time ministry. The most common argument against a seminary education is that people in seminary become more book smart then anything else. In other words, seminary students become learners of books and programs rather then people. I have even heard numerous professors in Seminary claim that Seminary turns out more scholars/teachers that turn to education instead of training pastors. Interesting thought huh? I don't know if it is entirely true, but there is sure some validity to the claim.

Throughout Seminary I have asked myself, is this about people or programs. If it was about people, I sat back and took it all in. If it was about programs, I continually related it back to people and the "real world". Here are some thoughts on programs and people:

• Focusing on programs offers us an easy excuse for not trying and not "getting dirty" as we get involved in the lives of others. In other words, we can blame our lack of success and effort on the program because it did not work out the way it should have.
• Focusing on programs encourages and fosters a consumeristic mentality of individuals seeking the best program (product) in town.
• Focusing on people allows us to create and initiate programs that are unique to our church body instead of copying programs from another church.
• Focusing on people mandates that we continually turn to God for guidance as we shepherd and guide our flock (no seminary training or other education prepares us for this, only God).

There is a definite contrast between the two. As I look at programs and people I see and compare God's way (people) versus man's way (programs). End of argument because God's way is always right.

Introduction
Lesson #1: Above all else
Lesson #2: The church as the body and family
Lesson #3: People or programs
Lesson #4: To consume or to be consumed
Lesson #5: For mine or yours
Lesson #6: Peter Pan & leadership
Lesson #7: Rainbow vs. pot of gold

Christmas Day

The Harris family had a wonderful Christmas. My mom was able to spend the holidays with us, so it was extra special to have family in town. The day was relaxing and refreshing, filled with each other's company. We spent the day with Maya experiencing her new gifts. We played and listened to her new piano, we played numerous rounds of "Memory" and "Candy Land". We even enjoyed playing with her new Princess Set. However, I was stuck being Cinderella as Maya played the role of Prince Charming. I think this was because she liked hearing me talk like Cinderella; every time I talked like her she giggled. Here are a some pictures from Christmas morning:
I can't blame Maya, I did it too. I always went towards the biggest present first to see if my name was on it. Here is Maya, checking the biggest bag to see if her name was on it (and yes, she knows how to spell her name and can tell if it says Maya). We didn't let Maya open the bag until everything else was opened.

Here is Maya and Heather playing with a Disney Princess set Maya received as a present from my sister's family. It was the first present where she stopped and opened it so that she could play with it right away.

Here is Maya playing her new piano (the present in the bag). Notice the music open on the top of the piano. She was playing and singing to Heather, my mom, and myself. I believe she was playing, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".

Lesson #2: The Church as the family and body of Christ

I remember vividly sitting around the campfire at Westminster Woods Camp Grounds nestled in the Sonoma County Coastal Redwoods during family camp singing “We are the Family of God.” During the chorus there is an opportunity to vocally declare your allegiance to the words of the song. “We are the family of God, YES! We are the family of God, and he has brought us together to be one in Him that we might bring light to the world.” The chorus was always my favorite because everyone would jump up and declare, YES! This memory has stayed with me for many years because it’s true. There is no doubt about it, if you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior you are a member of the family of God; now let’s get up and declare it like the good old days! The Teacher’s Commentary explains that in the third chapter of Ephesians there are three images which assist us when we think about the church. Two of these images are brought into focus in the midsection of Ephesians. The three images that are communicated to us with the intention to give us a vision of who we are as Christ’s church are those of: a body; a family; and a holy temple. The three images share a common emphasis. Each of them reminds that we are one with our brothers and sisters, even as we are one with Christ. But each of the images also has its own distinctive emphasis:

• The biblical picture of the church as a body reminds us that we are called to a life of good works. Even as our own bodies act to carry out the intentions of our minds, so the body of Christ acts on earth to carry out the intentions of Jesus, our living Head.
  
• The biblical picture of the church as a family reminds us that we are called to a life of love. As the human family is the context for growth and intimacy, so the family of God is a context in which God’s love is expressed to welcome each other and to help each other grow.
• The biblical picture of the church as a temple reminds us that we are called to a life of holiness. As a temple reminds us of the worship of God, our calling as a holy temple is to bring God praise and honor and glory.

Our God in heaven has crafted a unique and distinct organism; the body of Christ! He is the composer and originator of the body of Christ. The body of Christ is diverse and it is full of many individuals with many gifts and abilities. Anyone who is in Christ is a part of the body of Christ. No one body part is superior over the others. It is Christ who is the unifier of the diversity of the body of Christ. The body of Christ is diverse and is full of many individuals with many gifts and abilities. Anyone who is in Christ is a part of the body of Christ. No one body part is superior over the others. It is Christ who unifies the diversity of the diversity of the body of Christ. More then thirty different spiritual gifts are mentioned in the five New Testament listings (1Cor. 12:4-10; 1 Cor. 12:28-30; Eph. 4:11; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Peter 4:10-11). The Bible is quite clear that every Christian is gifted for service. All of the gifts that God has given us are closely tied to the Christian virtue of love (1 Cor. 13) because it is love which binds us together and it is love which spurs to reach out in Christ’s name.
The members of the body of Christ make-up the church; a community of men and women who have responded to God’s offer of eternal salvation. If the church looses sight of this fact, an eventual deterioration and demise will occur. “The world needs the church to be the church so that the world can know that God loves the world and that redemption is therefore possible. The church is a sign of hope in the world that redemption is therefore possible. The church is a sign of hope in the world, but if it does not remain distinct from the world it loses its ability to point to the transcendent God.” The church must maintain it true identity as defined by Christ or else Christianity will become just another religion overcome by relativism and pluralism. A religion which seeks to conform to culture instead of seeking to transform culture through Christ’s love and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is imperative for the church to maintain it’s standard and to be active participants in the promises of God, in Christ. “God makes a covenant with his people and separates them from the world as his own possession, and vouches himself for this covenant.”

Introduction
Lesson #1: Above all else
Lesson #2: The church as the body and family
Lesson #3: People or programs
Lesson #4: To consume or to be consumed
Lesson #5: For mine or yours
Lesson #6: Peter Pan & leadership
Lesson #7: Rainbow vs. pot of gold