| grace on the ground...a short note from Madrid...
Grace on the ground…
Paul’s
first letter to the Corinthians (…actually a second) is a refuge of practical
biblical hope for those of us in the world mission movement who struggle to
reconcile our knowledge of the grace
of the gospel with a practical walking it
out on the ground. This was
illustrated not so very long ago when a good friend and colleague in South
America commented, “I think I understand the theology of grace up here,”
pointing to his head – the marvelous seat of theological knowledge -, “but,
when it comes to living out that treasure in my life and labors well…that is
another story all together.” My
colleague’s testimonial, spoken in different ways and languages, in cities and
villages is repeated time and again by students, missionaries, national
partners, church planters, friends and team members. Jesus
did teach us to pray, “…thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” yet, all
too often, the chasm between God’s precious gifts and our practice seems frustratingly impassable. That gap can be downright discouraging in
everything from parenting, to church plantings, to team building and life. Gratefully the Apostle
Paul, that wise master builder of
the church and consummate missional theologian, pens a letter that breathes
hope into our often deflated hearts, gives practical perspective to God’s work
in the world, and serves to bridge that gap between our knowledge of grace and our living
in grace.
The Corinthian church was born during Paul’s second missionary journey. In terms of modern
church planting stats and grids, the work was something of a missional
masterpiece. Those initial beginnings in
Corinth are
coveted by most missional teams I know.
The foundations of the fellowship were laid in just eighteen months as Paul, with fear and trembling, determined to know
nothing among those first converts but Jesus Christ
and him crucified – the very heartbeat of the gospel of grace and the only
source of power for living in grace. Paul’s founding passion was to assure that the faith
of those first believers in Corinth
would never rest upon the wisdom of men but, more importantly, upon the
gracious power of God. Counter-culture
to many contemporary church planting strategies, rather than begin with a
mono-cultural/socioeconomic model, Paul went right after the divisive demons of
race, ethnicity and class to establish a congregation populated by both Jews
and Greeks, slaves and free all built together upon an apostolic foundation in
which Christ Jesus was the chief cornerstone.
Yet, in just a few short years, significant problems surfaced which, in
a very real sense, are the practical challenges we each face in our labors
today. Even a cursory reading of First
Corinthians reveals those infamous seeds of destruction often prevalent in our contemporary
contexts. There were those classic team
divisions and dissention in around the issues of leaders and leaderships styles.
A deep misunderstanding of the sacraments had surfaced, which was just another
link to a series of disorders surrounding the ways we worship. There was the all too common division over
the significance and use of the charismatic gifts – not to mention the
persistent presence of pride. Believers were locked into unfortunate legal
wranglings in local courts, there were struggles to define the role of women in
the church, issues of headship and authority, moral laxity, heresies
surrounding the resurrection of Christ and we could
name others. On any given day, these
very issues swirl around our labors in Latin America
and, often, threaten to drown out the budding life and vitality of our
churches. Yet, as an encouragement to
all of us, it is in this very context that Paul, the apostle and herald of
grace and the consummate missionary, helps us to practically bridge that all
too frustrating chasm between a knowledge of grace and of living in it. Pieces
of that bridge are highlighted in the first nine verses of the book.
First, Paul
assures the contemporary missionary that a truly Spirit-filled church, the “church of God” as he boldly calls these
Corinthians (1:2), can and will openly and transparently confront issues of sin
and carnality. Though it is often hard
to appreciate, the great good news of the gospel is that the darker and more
desperate the situation, the more hope there is for us in God’s grace and power
and as missional teams we are free to put each and every issue on the table. As
Paul shows us through the rest of the
book, there is absolutely no need to hide or deny “lo que nos pasa” (all that is happening to us). Though is makes for troubling reading in a
monthly prayer update, Paul is not hesitant to bring up each and every issue that
the Holy Spirit surfaced nor is he hesitant to name the source of his
information (1:11). Such manifestations
of sin and brokenness regardless of whether they happen in Corinth,
Lima, or Buenos
Aires are no surprise nor scandal to the Lord of Hosts;
they shouldn’t be to us either. In fact,
the great good news of the gospel of grace, for missionary and national partner
alike, is that the Spirit of God will continue to expose such sin and
brokenness in our personal and community lives because of Christ’s commitment
to both begin and carry “… to completion” (Phil. 1:6) his good work in us. These are not reasons to shut the doors, head
back to the States, or find another calling, but rather reasons to celebrate
the active work of God’s Holy Spirit in our midst. It is only our knowledge and confidence in the
grace of the gospel that frees us from either the slavish need to conceal
personal or corporate sin and to recognize that all of us, national and expat
alike, have been “…set apart in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together
with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus” (1:2). The factors that surfaced in Corinth were not the result of a poor
foundation, nor a poor theology of the cross, nor a lack of the Spirit’s power,
nor poor strategic planning – things we missional types tend to lament when
facing similar circumstances. The core
problem at Corinth, as across the international church of Christ today, was the simple presence of
sinful people just like you and me. The
Corinthians needed a Savior and so do we yesterday, today and forever. A foundational knowledge of the theology of
grace calls us to freely lay our weakness and yes, our sin, at the foot of the
cross because, at the end of the day, it is the Holy Spirit himself who is surfacing
them to the end that we may be kept “strong to the end, so that [we] will be
blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:8).
Secondly, Paul shows us that, rather
than complain about and criticize one another, the gospel of grace gives us the
freedom to pray and give thanks for team mates and partners, saints and
sinners, and then to joyfully give thanks for our camaraderie in our
“fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1:9). Such prayer and
gratitude for one another is rooted, not in our innate goodness, but in the
reality that “…[the] testimony about Christ was
confirmed in [us]” (1:6). This is
certain and secure especially in the
midst of our struggles with sin and conflict and is perhaps the most valuable,
practical lessons that we’re beginning to learn in Latin
America. It is a clarion
call to define one another, not first and foremost by sin and struggle, but by
the gift of righteousness we share as people of faith. Regardless of the size or make up of our
teams and congregations, we have all been “enriched in every way – in all [our]
speaking and all [our] knowledge” (1:5) and we really don’t “lack any spiritual
gift” (1:7) necessary for our blessing and maturity as we “eagerly wait for our
Lord Jesus
to be revealed” (1:7). Before wading
into doctrinal controversies, leadership struggles, and discussions about
worship, let’s begin by simply giving thanks for each and every one “…because
of his grace given to us in Christ
Jesus” (1:4).
Thirdly, Christ’s
commitment to our labors as missionaries and national partners is “to the end”
(1:8). All too often we lament short
term failures, questionable results, team fractures and break ups, slow
progress on a host of fronts, and systemic bottlenecks. Paul,
like each and every one of us, was not immune from the temptation of such a
short term perspective about his life and labors. However, the grace of the gospel us the
assurance that, at the end of the day, it is God and God alone who is faithful
(1:9) and who not only “…called [us] into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ”
but who will also keep us “…strong to the end, so that [we] will be blameless
on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:8).
I offer this simple invitation. Immerse yourself, individually and as teams
in the knowledge of the grace of the gospel.
And, as Paul tells that new
church plant in the first nine versus of this book, learn to define your lives
and labors as God does. Together we are God’s church, God’s people, sanctified
and called to be holy. Then, as you give
thanks for one another, for colleagues and national partners, churches and
denominations, have no fear to put each and every issue that the Holy Spirit
surfaces on the table. Christ has promised to build
his church and the gates of hell shall never prevail against it. Then, as you end your day and begin another,
let Paul’s final words of this letter
fill your hearts; “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus”
(16:23, 24).
|
