A Holy Charge (3)

 

What kind of leadership example did Paul, Silas, and Timothy give to the Christians in Thessalonica? Whatever that example was, it is reasonable to think that it was Paul’s expectation that the leaders of the church in Thessalonica would emulate it.

 

What do you see about Paul, Silas, and Timothy in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 2? What did their service in the Gospel look like? What was the nature of their ministry, its character? How would you describe it?

 

The first thing to note in this chapter is that Paul and his friends were under intense pressure when they arrived in Thessalonica. “After we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the Gospel of God amid much opposition” (1 Thess. 2:2; see Acts 16:1 – 17:9).

 

I point this out because what follows is, in my thinking, a remarkable description of sacrificial leadership, and I want us to note that it was exhibited under the pressure of persecution, that Paul and his coworkers were hardly in an ivory tower, they were not in a quiet church setting, they were rather experiencing pain and uncertainty and fierce opposition – they were paying a price to share Jesus Christ with others.

 

We see the true character of others, and we see it in ourselves, in suffering, persecution, and opposition. In such times we can go either “inward” or “outward,” that is, we can either focus solely on ourselves or we can serve others. Paul and his friends chose to serve Christ and the Thessalonians (for another striking example of this see 2 Corinthians 1:3 – 11; 4:12).

 

What is our response when we are under pressure? When we suffer for our obedience to Jesus Christ? Do we go into a defensive posture, or do we seek to be a blessing to others? Do we withdraw from others, or do we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to Christ on behalf of others? Do we allow our hearts to be hardened, or do we ask the Holy Spirit to make us compassionate and tender toward others as we live in Christ and as Christ lives in us?

 

After being beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, would anyone have blamed Paul and Silas if they had returned to their home church in Antioch seeking safety and rest? Would it have been understandable for them to seek confirmation of the “Macedonian Vision” of Acts 16:9? Surely God would not lead them into a furnace of trial and persecution?

 

Do we question God’s Word when we face opposition? When the Holy Spirit challenges our actions and attitudes? When life is hard, which it often can be, do we continue on our pilgrimage of obedience to Jesus Christ, taking up our cross daily to follow Him?

 

When the going gets tough, we can be tempted to think that the church or the world owes us something. If Paul had thought this way he may not have gone to Thessalonica sharing the Gospel. If Paul thought the world or the church owed him something, he and his friends would not have worked “night and day so as not to be a burden” to the Thessalonians (2:9).

 

Paul did not think that the church or the world owed him anything – quite the opposite, Paul saw himself as being in debt to the world. “I am a debtor to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish” (Romans 1:14).

 

How do we view our relationship with the world? Do we think the world owes us something? Or do we see that, in Christ, we are debtors to all mankind to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them?

 

If we are indeed debtors to the people of the world, are we paying our debt to them by sharing Jesus Christ?

A Holy Charge (2)

 

“We request of you, brethren, that you respect those who labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.” (1 Thess. 5:12 – 13).

 

Why does Paul begin his concluding exhortation, with its 16 admonitions, with a focus on respecting “those who labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord”?

 

I think an element of the answer is found in the nature of what follows, for what follows portrays a highly interactive and relational fellowship of disciples, growing in Christ and in their relationship with one another, and growing in the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ. A dynamic environment is a challenging environment, for as we learn and grow and try new things we make mistakes; we make relational mistakes, we make teaching mistakes, we make mistakes in understanding our Lord Jesus and His Word.

 

Living in relationship with others is messy. Feelings get hurt, motives can be confusing, words can be misunderstood, insecurities can rise to the top, egos get in the way even though we try to be well-intentioned. Growing in the Word and the Spirit can be messy, we seldom know what we think we know in the perspective we ought to have in Christ, we often confuse seeing the part of something with seeing the whole picture, our excitement can get the best of us at times and not demonstrate wisdom in word and actions, as can our timidity and fear of making mistakes.

 

I know of no way of living in loving and growing relationships without living in varying degrees of messiness, mistakes, at times grave errors – and of course, without living in mercy and grace and forgiveness.

 

Godly servant leaders model Christ for us and they also instruct us in the guardrails of discipleship, there are times they need to say, “Please don’t do that.”

 

There is a pattern, if you will, in 1 Thessalonians 5:12ff that we also see in 1 Corinthians and Ephesians. The highly interactive portrayal of the Body of Christ in Ephesians 4:14 – 16 is preceded by:

 

“He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11 – 12).

 

That is, the servant leaders of Ephesians 4:11 – 12 play an integral role in the unfolding of 4:14 – 16, even though it is clear that all the members of the Body are receiving directly from the Head as well as from one another (see 4:15 – 16).

 

In 1 Corinthians 12 – 14 we have an extended treatment of the gifts of the Spirit and of the highly interactive and participatory nature of our gatherings in Christ. Within this passage we have, “God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers…” (12:28).  Then we have, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment” (14:29). Our gatherings are not to be “anything goes” and “you can’t judge my words and actions,” they are to be safe places where we can grow, make mistakes, even be foolish at times, receive forgiveness, and have guardrails for the sake of everyone.

 

I will point out that the other great passage of the functioning Body of Christ, Romans Chapter 12, begins with us offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God – if we are first and foremost living sacrifices, then our life together is one of sacrifice to God and for one another, the Nature of our Life Together is Christ’s sacrificial life in us.

 

What did leadership look like in Thessalonica?

 

From 5:12 – 13 we see that there was labor involved, it was work. This labor is of the mind, heart, soul, spirit, and body – it requires all a person has and all a person is – it is an offering to Christ and His People. It entailed instruction, leaders (by whatever name you choose to call them) must be teachers in word and deed. Paul writes that elders must be “able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2).  Peter writes that elders are to be “examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:3). I think we see that in the New Testament pastoring was a collective endeavor.

 

But here is the thing that I’d really like us to ponder, and that is the question of the heart of an elder, leader, deacon, teacher, apostle…whatever the term for “office” or calling may be – what should the nature of “ministry” be, what should it look like?

 

All we need to do is turn to 1 Thessalonians Chapter 2 for the answer.

 

We’ll ponder this passage in our next reflection, the Lord willing.