THE BEREAN PROCESS “How you can ensure that you are in a good church.”

By Todd Tillinghast

Many Christians struggle with questions like these as much as anything else concerning their faith:

{     “Am I in the right church?”

{      “Is this a good church?”

{      “Is the Pastor teaching the word of God correctly?”

{      “How do I find a good church?” 

Unfortunately, this issue of finding a good church has caused many Christians to become disenchanted with Christianity and in many cases stop going to church altogether.  First of all we must remember that it is important that we continue to meet together (Hebrews 10:24,25) for the very reasons listed in these verses.  When we meet together we stir each other up to love and good works.  When we meet together we are expressing the Body of Christ. But how does one find the right Church?  Maybe you are currently in a church that makes you feel uncomfortable and would like to know how to be sure that it is a solid Bible teaching church.  Or maybe you currently aren’t attending a church and are looking for one.  In the Bible we see an example of a thriving, Bible centered church in Berea.  We also see demonstrated by the Bereans the means by which one can know that they are in the right church.  

In Acts 17: 1-15 we have the account of two churches.  And these two churches were indeed very different.  But what is it that delineated the Church of Thessalonica from the church at Berea?  Why was the church at Berea so much more successful than the church at Thessalonica?  What was different?  Was it the preacher?  No, Paul and Silas were the preachers in both locations.  Was it the message?  No, the message was also the same, the gospel.  Maybe it was the process.  No, we see that in both vs.2 and vs. 10 Paul and Silas employed the exact same approach as “was their custom” in all the cities where they planted churches. They went to the Synagogue of the Jews first.  So what was the difference? 

Well in vs. 11 we see the delineating factor.  The Bereans were the difference.  The fact that they were more fair-minded than the Thessalonians is what made all the difference.  Now the reason why they were more fair-minded was not due to any form of cultural superiority or social-economic distinction between the two groups.  Both groups were Jews.  Likewise it wasn’t because the Bareans had any kind of intellectual or even spiritual edge.  They needed the gospel to be saved just like everyone else.  Let’s take a look at what set them apart.

1.  They received the word in all readiness.  Vs.11 

This speaks for itself but I will allow Commentator John Gill to unpack this idea in his own words… “This they did with all readiness, as an hungry man receives his food, and greedily feeds upon it, or as a man ready to perish receives and lays hold on anything that offers for his safety.”  That’s intense.  That’s beyond just showing up to church and settling into the weekly ritual.  That’s saying I’m here to learn, I’m hungry for the word.   Is that the attitude that you and your fellow parishioners have at your church?  

Now notice here that it doesn’t say they received Paul readily.  It doesn’t say anything about Paul.  It says that they received the word readily.  They had a reverence for the Old Testament and when anyone began to talk about it they adopted the attitude of listening out of respect for the truth.  

2.  They searched the scriptures daily.  Vs.11 

They listened to Paul and Timothy and allowed them to have their say but they didn’t just take their word for it.  They went home and “searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”  Why did they do this, so that they could find a reason to discredit Paul and Timothy?  That is not implicit in the text.  They did it because they were truth seekers and they wanted to know the truth.  Now if they had found something that was not true they would have had grounds to dispel Paul and Timothy.  But their reasons would have been more fair-minded than the reason the Thessalonians had in vs.5 to insight a mob in an attempt to throw them into prison or worse to stone them.  The Thessalonians’ reason was envy.  They envied Paul and Silas.  All too often we focus on the messenger rather than the message.  If we are truth seekers and if we love the word of God then how we receive it shouldn’t matter.  What matters is that it is correct.  All too often we get into personality conflicts in the Church over leadership issues and envy issues because we are too focused on man and gifts rather than on learning and growing in the word of God.  This works both ways.  If we immediately become suspect or envious of all leaders who have influence we may miss an opportunity to receive some very good teaching.  We have here in this account a process of accountability that can hold all parties involved to the same standard.  The truth is the standard.  If the person preaches and teaches the truth and we have verified it ourselves then we should receive what they say with all readiness.  If they do not then we are not obligated to listen to them or allow ourselves to be influenced by them.  We also need to be careful that our motives are not driven by envy of anyone who seems to have more influence than we do or who seems to be more gifted than we are.  Let the word and its truth be the litmus test for who we allow to teach us and who we do not listen to. 

3.  Are there new believers coming into the church?  Vs.12. 

The next verse tells us the result of the Berean’s response to the word being preached.  Many of them believed.  Not just Jews but prominent Greeks as well.  Evangelism is a foregone conclusion when the truth is being preached and received correctly in any place.  The truth sets people free.  When people are abiding in His word (Searching the scriptures daily) and the unadulterated, undiluted truth is being taught then people will be set free.  (John 8:31, 32)  This is exactly what happened in Berea.

4.  Is there controversy?  Vs.13

“The Jews from Thessalonica came and stirred up the crowds.” One indicator that the truth is not being diluted is when it causes a certain amount of controversy.  If someone isn’t getting upset and if there isn’t any disagreement and or healthy debate taking place within your congregation the chances are the truth either isn’t presented or it is unrecognizable amidst a mixture of tolerance soaked ideas and liberal theology.  Christ understood this implicitly when He shockingly reveals in Mathew 10:34-36 that He came to bring a sword.  The truth divides as much as it unites.  It creates clear delineations and makes it obvious where people stand on issues.  This is the nature of truth.

While certainly not an exhaustive list these principles should give us a clear idea of whether or not a church is a good one. Certainly childcare, location and other preferential issues are important.  But if the truth is not being taught, the people are not abiding in the word and there is not an agreed upon accountability process between the teachers and the congregation then all the preferential items don’t matter.  On the other hand, one could endure a longer commute or even less than perfect sounding music in order to be involved with a group of truth lovers who work it out and live it out as a community.  Remember, according to our text today the difference between a good church and bad one is not the preacher or the message but whether the people are Berean in their attitude towards the word or not.  That’s good news, because that means having or finding a great church begins with you.    

The Tillinghasts Panama Update - July - August 2010

BEING GOOD AINT GOOD ENOUGH “Glenn Beck as spiritual advisor, huh???”

By Todd Tillinghast

For months I have been trying to wrap my head around and figure out this force of nature that has popped up on the radar screen seemingly out of nowhere.  Glenn Beck!!!!

Let me just be very clear right from the outset.  In many ways I like Glenn Beck.  I think his honesty is a refreshing breath of clean air in a media that is to say the least less than objective.  I think that if he ran for president considering our current choices I would probably vote for him.  I agree with many of his “political” precepts such as small government and low taxes to name a few.  I even think that he is doing a great job as “the man shouting from the watchtower” warning us about the coming storm.  I think that we are in a place in the U.S. where we need a Glenn Beck on the political landscape.  Whether you agree with him or not you have to admit that he is very influential and he has certainly caused us to stop and think.  He demonstrated that incredible level of influence last Saturday when he generated a crowd of nearly half a million people to the mall on the 47^th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech.”  Politically we, Glenn and I, see eye to eye. 

My problem (or discomfort may be a better description of the way I am feeling) is in his growing status as a Spiritual leader in the U.S.  He himself seems to be most comfortable with this characterization.  He made it very clear that the “Restoring Honor” celebration in Washington on August 28^th was not political.  He discouraged people from brining signs and he strove not to allow any of the speakers to make political comments.  Some would argue that the mere presence of Sarah Palin regardless of what she said broke this oath.  What he did proceed to do was to create a church like service in which there was singing and open prayers.  He was flanked on stage with what he is calling the “Black Robe Brigade” which is a group of inter- faith ministers.  Now here is where I get uncomfortable.  

To many Christians this rally and the formation of this Brigade may seem like a huge step in the right direction.  I couldn’t disagree more.  I respect Beck and the many attendees of the rally for their recognition that there is a problem in our country.  I also can appreciate the desire and the readiness to assemble and organize.  I think that those two aspects are steps in the right direction.  My fear is that while trying to move away from the wrong things that are beginning to transpire in our nation (the move toward socialism, the loss of individual rights) that we may be taking a wrong turn trying to right the wrong.  

Beck courageously, emotionally and very effectively totes the rights of the individual.  He talks about how this country needs to be restored.  He talks about how things like honor, faith and charity will bring our country back.  And he probably is right it will restore our country.  But the question is, restore it to what?  His faith in the “every man” is admirable until it crosses the line into humanism where the individual not the collective becomes god.  It’s a fine line. 

He also talks about how we need to be in unity, that people from all faiths need to unify under the same banner.  Again, this sounds wonderful but the question is what banner will we be unified under?  Let’s not forget that Beck is a Mormon.  As Christians we need to decide if faith, hope and love are what we stand for or if we stand for Christ the only true generator of Faith, hope and love. 

People deride Beck for being extreme and radical.  I don’t think he’s extreme enough.  I think that he is simply positing another version of tolerance and modernism dressed up in conservative rather than liberal clothes.  

No, faith, hope and charity will not save this country.  Unity will not save this country.  These things are important to be sure but they are results of something else.  They cannot become an end in and of themselves.  They need to become the fruition of something else.  Something more primary needs to happen first and if this happens then these elements will result.  And it doesn’t start in the media or in the political realm.  It begins with the real Church of Jesus Christ.

And it doesn’t start with picketing lines, or town hall meetings.  It starts with repentance.  2 Chronicles 7:14  says “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  ESV   

We are all responsible for the state our country is in not just the Liberals and Progressives.  We have all sinned and we have all dishonored God (RM 3:23).  As the church we would do better to get on our knees and pray first before we even go to the voting booth or the political rally.  The truth is the only hope for the United States now as it has always been is God.  Good works aren’t good enough.  It has to start with us His people.  We need to turn off the Fox News channel just for a couple of minutes and look in the mirror and ask ourselves “what wicked ways do I have in my life?”  “What wicked websites have I been visiting?”  “What wicked thoughts are there in my heart?”

Church, Glenn Beck is not the Spiritual leader we need in this hour.  He definitely is a political leader and I rather hope he runs for office.  But we do not need to get our Spiritual advice from him, especially when we have the greatest source of wisdom ever written, The Holy Bible. 

Unity only becomes an agent of good when the source of that unity is right.  The Nazi’s were also unified in 1930’s Germany.  Does that mean their cause was right?  Unity for unity’s sake at the cost of truth is not the right kind of unity.  Unity is important but it is not the first step.  We need to call ourselves and our world to repentance and to come back to Christ and Christ alone.  And then we need to demonstrate that by getting down on our own knees.  While we are there on our knees crying out to the one and only God, Jesus Christ and we look around to see who is with us then we should join hands with those who are doing the same and let that be our unity.  

Christ Eteem Part 2 : Paul’s perspective.

By Todd Tillinghast 

“The humble man because he sees himself as nothing can see other things as they are.”  Iris Murdoch

“To me who am less than the least of the saints.”  Ephesians 3:8

Now this is a very telling phrase.  Here we have a rare opportunity as we see Paul addressing himself to catch a glimpse of Paul’s personality by seeing the way he thought of himself and the terminology that he used to describe himself. A quick read through the salutations of all of his epistles reveals that Paul referred to himself in different ways at different times. 

He is known to call himself a:

-        Bondservant

-        A prisoner of Christ

-        An Apostle

-        A Pharisee of Pharisees

-        One abnormally born

-        A saint

-        Chief of sinners

-        A minister

-        The apostle to the gentiles

-        The least of the apostles

-        And here as less than the least of all the saints.

When we look at this list of  titles we may get the sense that maybe Paul had an identity crisis. These are not just role distinctions like someone saying I’m a dad an employee and a husband. These are different ways in which he referred to himself and are indicative of how he saw himself. 

Now my first gut reaction when I see or hear someone refer to themselves like this is to be skeptical.  In fact, to me it smacks of false humility. 

“Well I am the least of the least and I feel pretty good about that, why don’t you tell me how wonderful I am.” 

To be honest with you few things irritate me more than false humility.  Phrases like:

-        “Oh It wasn’t me it was all God” or

-        “I didn’t have anything to do with it”

-        Or “I’m just trying to serve”

I think we all know that most of the time when we or someone else say things like this that in actuality the opposite is true.  We are essentially saying that we want people to recognize us for being so insignificant.  “Pat us on the back and show us how proud you are of our humility please.”  

I have always thought that it’s just better to demonstrate humility not go overboard in trying to convince everybody how humble you are with your words.  Just think about this phrase from our modern understanding it’s like an oxymoron.  If you are the least of the least then doesn’t that actually mean that you are the best of the least?  “I’m a bigger servant than you are nah ,nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.” 

Well that certainly may be the feeling we get when we look at this through modern lenses but what is Paul really saying here? 

As we return to Paul’s words in Ephesians chapter three we are reminded that there is a purpose in his appellations. There were other times when Paul called himself an Apostle because he needed to stand in a place where he needed to correct such as with the Corinthians and then there were other times when he called himself a bondservant as that was what was required to accomplish his purposes of exalting Christ. 

There was even a time in Philippians: 3:4-6 that Paul proceeds to give quite a lengthy resume of all the things that he had done. He must have known that he would be criticized for bragging here but he said it anyway because his purpose in the end was to magnify Christ.  In fact in 2^nd Cor 12:11 we see that Paul is fully aware of the fact that he is boasting and says “I am fool for boasting.”  The point is that there were people who thought he was braggadocios and he knew it and there were people who criticized him and made fun of his speaking abilities (2^nd Cor 10:10).  He also had a reputation and was feared by many as “the Christian killer”, but I believe that his utilitarian use of different appellations is indicative of the fact that his titles and what he thought about himself (and subsequently what others thought about him) were not that important to him.  What was important were that his life, words and deeds magnified Christ. 

Paul wasn’t being disingenuous when he called himself “less than the least of the saints.”  He wasn’t being theatrical or practicing false humility.  I love what Calvin remarks here about Paul “This is no hypocritical declaration. Most men are ready enough to make professions of feigned humility, while their minds are swelled with pride, and in words to acknowledge themselves inferior to every one else, while they wish to be regarded with the highest esteem, and think themselves entitled to the highest honor. Paul is perfectly sincere in admitting his unworthiness; nay, at other times he speaks of himself in far more degrading language.” 

The next part of the verse helps us see what Paul understood, that he was nothing without God’s grace. It was God’s grace that was given to him to be what he was and to do what he could do.  Paul understood that he was nothing without God’s grace and if that was true for Paul as an Apostle then it is certainly true of us. 

We don’t have to compete to see who is the least or the best because the reality is that we are all nothing without His grace.  Like Paul we are all the least.  He was simply verbalizing what we should all embrace and believe and understand about ourselves not for the purpose of trying to prove to everyone how humble we are or to try to be superior in our humility but because it is the truth. 

We are so afraid to say things like this today because it would be a terrible blow to our self esteem. But I don’t believe that we will truly ever be completely free and have the healthy self esteem we are supposed to have until we understand that we are nothing without God’s grace and that we are only something because of God’s grace.  It’s not self esteem that we need but God’s grace that forms our identity.  I believe Paul’s lesson here is that in a very real sense we can come to the highest and healthiest level of self esteem when we can say I am the least and be ok with it. 

The problem with false humility is not primarily what we say but what we believe. If we say we are the least but we really don’t believe it or we are saying it just to get people’s accolades or to manipulate them then it is false humility and it is hypocrisy. But if we truly believe the truth which is that you and I and the apostle Paul and Billy Graham, never were and never will be anything without the grace of God and you say that then you aren’t being disingenuous. 

The question first for you and I is “what do I believe about myself? 

I am becoming more and more convinced that the road to real freedom is not through building up my self esteem but through emptying me of my self and esteeming Christ in me.  I’m not there yet.  I just started on the long journey but I believe there is light at the other end of the tunnel.  Please pray for me.    

Christ Esteem, “who do you think you are?” part 1: Christ's perspective

There seems to be two prevailing streams of thought in the body of Christ today as it pertains to our self image and how we should present ourselves.  And these two streams of thought are at polar opposites.  They are diametrically opposed.  For the sake of our discussion today and at the risk of over simplifying I have classified these two ideas as formal and informal.  Please humor me as I try to explain.  

1.  Formal.   The formal idea adopts certain scriptures such as rev 5:10  “we are kings and priests,  or 1^st peter 2:9  which tell us that “we are a chosen nation and chosen generation, his own special people.” 

People who subscribe to this approach emphasize words like royalty and focus on titles such as bishop, apostle and saints.  They concentrate heavily on the fact that we are royalty and that we are to be blessed. They dress, act and talk as if to showcase this fact.  Their mentality is that the world will be drawn to us because of our outward success and so therefore they will want to be Christians because as Christians they can be successful like us. 

I remember several years ago there was a Christian song that came out that for me sums up this mentality called “I’m proud to be a Christian.” I always thought “proud to be a Christian isn’t that counterintuitive?”  It sounds like an oxymoron to me.   

2.  Informal:  The second group is the informal group.  They emphasize humility in all things especially in the way that we think and talk about ourselves. 

They are averse to titles.  Everybody is on the same playing field and there is a real informality to everything.  They are against boasting and drawing attention to self because this is not humility. 

Now to be sure there are strengths and weaknesses in both of these persuasions. 

While there is no doubt that we are, spiritually speaking, royalty and we are a chosen generation and we are a nation of kings and priests.   But since this our Spiritual position and posture is it necessary to constantly proclaim it rubbing everybody’s nose in it all the time? The obvious weakness of this viewpoint is that it can and often does promote pride.  Titles become too much of the focus. 

On the other hand, some of us need to hear and remember who we are in Christ from time to time.  Some of us need a good biblical boost of our self esteem and remember that we are children of the king so that makes us royalty. 

The Biblical idea expressed by Christ and His apostles seems to strike a balance somewhere in between these two extremes.Let’s take a look at what may be the greatest treatise on a healthy self image in the entire bible. Philippians 2:5-7

In verse 5 we see that humility and servant hood are mindsets.  It has more to do with what you think about yourself than what you say about yourself.    

Vs 6 says that Jesus knew who He was.  He knew He was God and he knew He was equal with God.  You may be thinking “yeah but he didn’t brag about it.”  Well Jesus did not go around calling himself the carpenter or Joseph and Mary’s son either.  How did he refer to himself? 

We must remember that in ancient Israel the Jews considered the name of God to be so sacred that they would not utter it.  They had no word for it.  But Jesus, this carpenter from Nazareth shows up on the scene and starts throwing these terms around from the Old Testament  that were references only to God and he was referring to himself in the first person as:

n      The alpha and the omega

n      The son of God

n      The son of man

n      The lord

This incensed the Jewish rulers and religious elite of the day. They considered this to be blasphemy. In fact, this was the major charge they had against him. This was the reason why he was sentenced to death not because of his miracles but more than anything else because of what he said about himself. 

The Jews wanted him dead because he claimed to be God.  And the Romans wanted him dead because he claimed to be the king of the Jews and they feared that he would start an uprising as their king to overthrow Roman rule.  On both counts it was due to what he said and what he believed about himself that landed Him on the cross. 

What we say about ourselves is indicative of what we believe about ourselves and that belief has ramifications and consequences. Jesus knew who he was, he referred to himself as the son of God and the son of man and he did not correct others when they did likewise. 

Does this mean that Jesus was not humble?  No, he was still humble not because he thought of himself as less than he was but because of his actions. 

Vs.  7 tells us that he made himself of no reputation.  He took the form of a bondservant which was a willing slave and humbled himself in obedience even unto death.  His actions showed him to be a servant and humble.  It didn’t take away from his humility that he was confident in who he was. Christ was not concerned about His reputation or what others thought.

This seems to be the message that Christ’s language about Himself combined with his actions demonstrate to us. Christ’s self esteem was a perfect mixture of confidence and humility.  He did not need to engage in false humility or exaggerate titles in order to define Himself.  He knew who he was and boldly stated this understanding while at the same time demonstrating what His true purpose was and that was to be the servant of all.  

It is so easy to get caught up in what others think about us.  Any titles we possess or don’t possess only have meaning for others.  They tell others who we are or who we are desperately trying to be.  An overemphasis on titles in either extreme is still that an overemphasis on titles.  Stringently insisting that there should be no titles and structuring all interactions around this fact is still an overemphasis on titles.  The key is to know who we are in Christ, be confident about that fact and remember that our purpose here on earth is just as it was for Him to be the servant of all.  We need to learn how to be content with letting people say what they will.  And we can always rest assured that they will.   

A WORD IS WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES

By Todd Tillinghast

In our world today the visible picture has taken it’s place of preeminence in our lives.  We’ve all heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” and in a certain sense this is true.  But on the other hand nothing is more powerful than words.  God created the heavens and the earth with words.  Words are the glue and the stuff of our relationships.  Words teach, build and destroy.  Words can be used to describe a sunset that paints the most beautiful picture imaginable in the mind.  Words are a window to the soul.  Words reveal what’s inside even more than body language.  If someone really understands the power of words and really embraces the power of listening they can and will live a rich life full of wonderful relationships and health in all areas. 

But have we sacrificed the “word” to “the god of the image”?  Have we weakened, cheapened it to the point where it has lost its meaning?  In our day where visualization is king how can we get back to the power of the word? 

Here is just one way that words make a difference.  

ENCOURAGEMENT

When we are working or studying hard it is easy for us to neglect or not realize our own need for encouragement.  We can be equally oblivious to the need that others around us have for encouragement.  It can look like nothing is changing day after day after day even though we know we are making a difference it would be nice to hear someone acknowledge and applaud our efforts once in awhile.  But with most people encouragement doesn’t come easily.   

When I was teaching middle school I had a great example of this kind of encouragement.  When you are working with young people, for the most part, at least at the elementary and middle school levels you are left with trying to find encouragement in their actions or in their test scores but what teachers may really be desiring and actually need is for one of their students to say “thank you so much for all your hard work, it really means a lot to me.”  The administration can say this and fellow teachers can say it and often do but when the people you are directly pouring your life into say it very clearly it definitely matters the most.  Now it’s not that kids don’t appreciate what we do for them it’s that they are not mature enough to express their gratitude in a way that would truly encourage us.   

I found that in the earlier part of the year it went a long way just to look for all those encouragements in the way that a student performed on a test or an improvement in their behavior.  But as the year went on I needed more.    

At about this time I was having a particularly difficult and dismal day.  You know those kinds of days when you think “ what’s the point, who cares and does it really matter.”  Well on that day I happened to have a meeting with a parent of a student who was really struggling in my class and in school in general.  And after the meeting his father came to me and said something to the effect of  “whatever you are doing with our son it’s working.   He really likes you.  He says that History is his favorite class.  Thank you for caring about our son.”  Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the rest of the day was amazing for me.  I mean I was floating on  air.  It was incredible.  Suddenly every kid I talked to was important and every class I taught mattered and I believed that I was making a difference. 

Imagine if you could create a culture in your sphere of influence where you were really intentional everyday about giving encouraging words. Eph 5:19 19 “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord”

 Not sappy or super spiritual; or forced words of encouragement but real genuine from the heart compliments and encouragements.  We all need to hear it.  So it starts with us. 

Proverbs 25:11 says that “a word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”   This is encouragement at it’s finest.   One word can not only change someone’s day but turn their whole life around.  Who can you give an apt word to this week?  

The Tillinghasts Panama Update - March - June 2010