Relationship Management
And the Twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables . . .” Acts 6:2 NASB
Not desirable – What does God want you to do? Ah, while you are answering that question you must also ask, “What does God want me to do for others?” The two are inseparable. Your relationship with the Father has immediate implications for your relationships with the rest of His children and you must pay attention to those implications. You don’t get to be Robinson Crusoe in God’s Kingdom.
Notice what the Twelve say. The Greek verb is arestos. It means “to set up a positive relationship, to make peace, to please.” When the translators suggest “desirable” we might accidently assume that this means “desirable for us” as though the Twelve were concerned about their personal peace. But that would be a mistake. What they mean is that it is not pleasing for you to have us wait on tables rather than study God’s word. It’s all about what God assigns. Someone has to wait on tables and God has in mind that someone who is perfectly suited to the task. It just doesn’t happen to be the Twelve. Does that mean that the Twelve cannot wait on tables? Of course not! We do what is needed when it is necessary, but the role God has each of us play for the good of the community is the role God wants. This implies that I cannot do what God wants me to do unless you are doing what God wants you to do.
I used to belong to the First Church of Spiritual Abuse. Just like any other secular organization, this church thought of service as filling one of its needs. The only difference was that the church asked me to do it for free.
One day I realized that God intends His people to work on the basis of the intersection of design and need, not simply on the basis of what the organization determines must be done next. God’s idea of community is each person producing according to the innate design that He gifted to them at birth so that every member contributes to the whole through passion and delight, not from demand and obligation. Once I realized this, I discovered that most work in organizations, whether they are corporations or churches, isn’t concerned with my passion, or with the passions of its employees or members. Most work is concerned with organizational task completion. And that means that most work is toil, not delight. Most work is about doing what someone else thinks needs to be done, not about releasing the passion that God gave me so that I can delight Him and bless others. It really doesn’t matter if I am laboring on the factory floor or behind a desk or in the choir or preaching a sermon. If I’m not utilizing the innate design God gave me, I will be frustrated, bored, preoccupied and, eventually, burned out.
Like every other organization, the church has tasks to be done. Someone has to teach Sunday school. Someone must take the offering. Someone must clean the building and fold the bulletins. Someone must preach. But in the end, if these necessary elements of the worshipping community are not being executed by precisely the ones God selected and empowered to accomplish them, then even if the goals are biblically correct, force-fitting people into the “needs” boxes is abuse nonetheless. In fact, as a leader you may have been doing it inadvertently, but it is abuse nonetheless.
There is a better way, but it requires a shift in our thinking about the relationship between work and worship. We can begin to marry passion, work and worship. Once you know where to look for this intersection, you can become a part of the worshipping community of the church with a whole new outlook. You can bring your special talent to the Kingdom in ways that you never thought possible because you can finally see how all the parts fit together. Paul exhorted us to think of the body of the church in terms of parts of our own bodies. The feet are for walking. The eyes for seeing. The ears for hearing. Each part is uniquely fitted to accomplish its specific purpose for the good of the whole. Knowing if you are “eyes” or “feet” or “ears” is crucial, because once you know, you will recognize where you are supposed to function within the body and you will stop trying to see with your feet or walk with your ears.
The Twelve didn’t need to study the word of God so that they could put the letters “Ph.D.” behind their names. They needed to do what God assigned to them so that the whole community might benefit, but they couldn’t do this unless the rest of the community did what God wanted it to do. My success depends on your success.
Welcome to the real Church.
Topical Index: church, assignment, work, worship, Acts 6:2
In the reformed church the women are good only to washing dishes and cook dinner.
we have no saying in the matter of practicing the gifts.
But that is heresy! Why stay in a community that dishonors what God intended?
Because my husband believe that the Reformed church is the only truth church.
In the mean time about a year and a half ago I became to the understanding of the Torah.
For that reason
until my husband come to the understanding of Yehovah Instructions, I feel
like I am stock in this particular church. I am praying that this will happen soon.
The way I was able to survive your situation dear lady was to honor my husband by seeing him as God’s vehicle to lead me into whatever situation He wanted me in to become more like Him and salt and light to others.
Our Father showed me this in prayer when I was at my wits end and asked Him how could I follow a man who was more inclined to go his own way than God’s.
He very sweetly asked me if I REALLY believed He could answer my own prayers to lead me through my husband?
It was a stunning end to my complaining.
Perhaps this will help you.
http://vimeo.com/26633796
The Ten Words
Exactly!
The organization(s) of the church have usurped the organism (Avinu’s children in Messiah) that it “”claims”” to be serving and has enslaved us in the vanity of hard labor and bondage to themselves and their own doctrines which effectively turn us away from the intended results that Torah seeks to produce.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKPUi0BlTYs
Can individuals determine what is or is not ‘heresy’ or is that a function of the community? 😉
Seems as though the Bereans could determine what was in line with Torah and so can we. While a believing community is essential for canonization, once the community establishes the content of its scared writings, any individual should be able to determine when opposing views are presented. Moses gives us two tests that can be applied by each of us, I think.
Our highest achievement in the kingdom
is learning how to get out of the way—-
so as to be able and open to be in His way!
This on-going struggle of giving up our self-will
for His will is what we know as “real life”.
It’s also, as Skip points out, what makes up
the “real Church”!
“Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as is is in heaven.”
I offer my own midrash of Ge 16:8; when the LORD asked Hagar two very important questions. He asks: Where are you coming from? Where are you going?
Midrash: There are three vital questions in life to be answered. The first one is, what do you want to do? Second, what needs to be done? The answers to those two questions creates not only an intersection; but even more a launching. It is here one hears the voice of HaShem calling. The third question – like the first two – is dynamic. It is the unwritten question in the Genesis passage; but nevertheless present. It asks, will you go; will you step into the void with the purpose of filling it?
Nicely put Roderick, My experience put to words. Thanks! 🙂
TW was very apropos for our recent study of spiritual gifts and serving. Thank you for your time and dedication to serving the Mighty Yah! We all certainly benefit from it.
“You don’t get to be Robinson Crusoe in God’s Kingdom.” LOVE IT!
“What they mean is that it is not pleasing for you to have us wait on tables rather than study God’s word.” Skip, this is exactly how I feel about my husband being so busy with work and taking care of the things around the farm/home that I can’t manage that he has no time to LEARN THE HEBREW LANGUAGE. Oh how we both long for him to be able to read and understand the text and context of God’s Word as spoken/written in the original language. For me, when he learns the BIG PICTURE, the TRUE PICTURE of a passage by being able to pluck out some meaning in Hebrew, it’s like turning a black and white sketch into 3-D color!
If anybody has any suggestions of excellent, interactive Hebrew learning programs at a decent price (preferably that have hard copy texts to accompany), I’d love to hear from you.
Abel-Bodied
(In Hebrew, we should know this), “work, worship, love and serve” are the very same word! (Hello..) Does anyone hear Someone calling? ~ “Who?” is to ~ serve one another in love? ~ (Galatians 5.13)
For ~ it is the LORD Christ you (we is you) are serving! ~ (Colossians 3.24) We are to ~ Serve the LORD (how?) with gladness!~ Psalm 100.2) But how do we (in reality?) love and serve God? By loving and serving, those He loves- all His creatures and all His children.
Adams (calling all adams..) abad and adore ADONAI always! – Amein! Are you a man? (or a mouse?) Stand and serve! Serve the One who is the King of all kings and LORD of all lords..- humble yourself (at all times) and serve! “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” (John Wesley)
And again (adams), – WHO went about “doing good?” He, (our Example and Exemplar) also “went about- doing good..” (Acts 10.38) We (who are His) are to ~ serve the LORD with gladness, and to come before His Presence with singing! ~ (whistle while you work?)
Work, dear ones, is (beyond any doubt) a not a (falsely perceived?) “right,”- it is a God-given privilege. Thank you God, for the abilities and skills to be an “able-bodied” adam. ~ The absolute best “ability” IS ability! Why is it “better to give, than to receive?” Could it be? -because we are “able”- it must first come to us before it may flow through us! ~As you have, (therefore) opportunity, (when the opportunity presents itself- and it always does!)- let “us” do good! – especially to those who are of the household of faith – (those who are our brothers and sisters *in Christ!*).
There are three “levels(?) of living,”- Duty. Drudgery. Delight. “Do what you enjoy, and you’ll never work again, another day in your life!” Do you (sir or m’am) enjoy serving people? Who came to us, -who lived among us ~ not to be served, but to serve? ~ (Mark 10.45) Here are the words of both David, and David’s greater Son- our Exemplar, the “Suffering Servant,” -the ONE who humbled Himself, even unto the death of a cross, our LORD Jesus (who is the) Christ: ~ I delight to do Your will, (my Father and) my God..~
Question, (for whosoever will..) When we (do) stop, and (do) serve one another – in love – is this pleasing in the eyes of Him with whom we have to do? Humility and service are inextricably “yoked together.” – (Today..) how may I serve you?
I love this and hate this… I have been studying this for a few years and on one hand, the abstract realization of this is powerful. On the other hand the implementation of this is not as easy as the abstract idea. Living in community, operating as a community of faith in which every member is detoxing from their previous context of “church” and “mega-church”, finding or should i say narrowing the ups of downs of free-for-all, and structure is difficult. Learning everyones zones and empowering others takes time, yet it is well worth the time. I would suggest the biggest detox for me is time. In the church everything is right now, hence the need to find everyones “spiritual gifts” so they can be put to “work” in the “church”. But finding ones true design and empowering them in that with passion takes time. Knowing how to teach and identify the zones is also a must for every community of faith.
Oh Skip thank you for confirming an email I spent the better part of my day composing which I just sent. The next thing I’m opening is TW. Please bear with this small insert from the letter.
There are more ways to read the Hebrew language. An important way that I constantly try to keep in mind is that it is structural which loosely means that precepts must be understood and applied in an order not so much as one standing upon another, but the importance of them all being contently and solidly standing in their proper place in order to hold the entire thing together.
Since you and I love to build rock walls lets used that as an example.
Every large rock needs every single one of the small rocks perfectly in place and every scoop of soil must be packed in tightly for the wall to withstand the the stress it will be hit with and not crumble.
In short terms with regard to the Torah, every tiny precept must be in place in each one of us in order for us to be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work. We learn as well as prove these precepts by doing them. This is why we need the entire Torah. The Torah is the cosmic law (singular) which is only strong when all the precepts (plural) are firmly set in place. This Law (singular) is that by which God holds ALL the pieces (plural) of the universe together. Every jot and tittle (dirt and sand particle) supports the the weightiness of the words. They cannot be done away with. They must be there in order to make the whole thing fit together perfectly and hold all things together…………
The eternal instructions that were given to Israel at Sinai are a gift that came down from heaven and every tiny particle of them must be preserved and present or it is not the building God has designed, it is a counterfeit destined to be destroyed…
Our little gathering is learning, growing into a “fit together” community requires another paradigm shift in our thinking. A shift from thinking organization to behaving more like an organism. Growing community can not be hurried. Sharing life grows community. It is a slow and steady journey of constant adapting.
It has taken nearly 6000 years for Elohim to fill His covenant to the point it is at today. Your little flock is part of that filling. He apparently is finished filling it yet.
Praise Yah!!!
“Paul exhorted us to think of the body of the church in terms of parts of our own bodies. The feet are for walking. The eyes for seeing. The ears for hearing. Each part is uniquely fitted to accomplish its specific purpose for the good of the whole.”
But, in these days of “church management”, only the ‘leaders’ have the right of assigning who is to be in a certain position of responsibility.
Even so in “Torah assemblies” where folks from various denominations and growth/maturity come together, whereas there should be an explosion of diversities of gifts and talents, these are suppressed, by the professed leaders already in charge. These are my personal experiences, in the few groups I had met up with. Many are compressed into uniform bricks!
Jealousy and pride are, alas, still prevalent, as these leaders are not really completely out of Greek worldviews; they continue to impose their authority/abuse upon others, should one challenge their stand on some Biblical views outside of theirs.
We have so much to learn and walk through, to be cleansed from. ABBA help us!
Skip, you are doing such a good job in clearing many stumbling blocks. Thank you for your patience.