Back to the Basics

This is going to be a “shout-out” of sorts to a ministry of which I am thoroughly impressed, but more importantly, I hope, a challenge for all of us to return “back to the basics.”

Because God has given me the wonderful privilege of interning with Daniel Henderson this year (check out his ministry at http://strategicrenewal.com/), I have been introduced to something called the “6:4 Fellowship.”  This organization, based on Acts 6:4, is made up of pastors all across the world who believe that returning to the basics of true pastoral ministry, prayer and the ministry of the word, is paramount in our generation.  So there is my shout-out! Check them out; I think it will be intriguing to you.

Today, however, I was working in a conference as a part of my internship with Daniel and was reminded and again challenged by the focus of this organization.  Look at Acts 6 and familiarize yourself with the context of the story.  In VERY general terms, there arose some issues concerning widows who were not being equally ministered to.  The 12 apostles gathered together and said,

           

            “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.  Therefore brothers pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to PRAYER AND THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD.”

You see, the apostles knew that their responsibility was to preach the Word and to intercede on behalf of their “flock.”  This issue that came up would have taken much time away from their prayer and study of the Scriptures, so they could not allow this to happen.  The goal of 6:4 Fellowship is to call pastors, challenge pastors to prioritize their ministry, not letting anything get in the way of the most important, yet basic necessities.

However, the second goal of 6:4 (this is my understanding of it at least) is to call pastors and their churches away from “program-driven” ministry back to the basics of Scripture.  We all would say that American churches need to see revival, but this is NOT going to come as a result of larger scale, better programs!  It is going to come about as a result of you and me falling on our faces before the God of the Universe begging Him to have mercy on us and save us from US.

Three things and then I am done…

1.  If you are a pastor, what is consuming your time?  Are you so involved in other ministry-related activities that Prayer and the Word have fallen by the wayside?  I fear that very few pastors are daily on their knees pleading with God for the people in their church.  As Matt Frye of C3 church in North Carolina said today, “I had become more of a weekend communicator than a pastor or shepherd…God had to wake me up.”  Is your sermon something that you present on Sunday as a result of study done during the week, or is it something that God has burned deeply within your heart?  I beg you to return to your knees and hear from God.  Check out 6:4 Fellowship to hear from other pastors who are returning to their God-given responsibilities as well http://www.64fellowship.com/.

2. If we go back to the text, we see how the apostles were able to dedicate themselves to prayer and the word – delegation.  Now I am terrible at delegation, but this is what I am learning, and more of what I learned today.  The apostles raised up 7 godly men who could perform these duties and enable the apostles to dedicate their time to the basics.  But more than just delegation, they raised up men from among them and gave them a mission.  Matt Frye, who I mentioned earlier, spoke about raising up a “men’s movement” in his church.  We need men to step up in the church, to put on their "big boy pants", but this is a topic for another day (though fascinating).  Pastors need to invest themselves in a few godly men who can carry out these necessities.  We need to call our men to a higher standard of leadership, responsibility, and action in the church like the apostles did. ( I want to develop this more fully, but I’m sure you are already getting tired of my wordiness).

3.  Lastly, I want to speak to those of you who are not pastors.  You thought you were going to get out of this one didn’t you? Nope, I have something for you too, or better yet the Word has something for you.  I think even though the Apostles are the ones who commit themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word, we need to ask ourselves this question: how am I doing in the basics?  Yes, a pastor has a whole “flock” to care for, and your responsibility does not directly require you to teach the Word, but these are quintessential in our pursuit of Christ.  So how are you doing?  Be honest! I’m not being the least bit judgmental because I am struggling here too.  If you say, “I’m doing pretty well,” tell me how?  What do these look like practically for you? I find that when we really evaluate these we end up thinking in our head that we are doing better than we really are in reality.  To be honest, my time in the Word has been pretty solid lately, but my prayer has been lacking to say the least!  We MUST get the basics or we will never intimately know Christ!

I hope this has been insightful, but more importantly I am praying as I write that God will massage this deep into our hearts so that we return to the basics and seek God’s face.  “God wants to start a movement, not a program,” and it starts with me on my knees.

Scott