Eternity Daily Bible Study No. 167 - A Good Example Eternity Daily Bible Study - http://www.aibi.ph/eternity/ Asian Internet Bible Institute: http://www.aibi.ph Meet the Edmistons: Due to some fairly unusual circumstances we (John & Minda Edmiston) will be in West Coast USA (from Seattle to LA) from the 3rd to th 24th May. If you would like to catch up for coffee or invite us to speak to your church or bible study group email us on: (By the way I had no idea that we would be on deputation when I took up this series, earlier on this week!) (3 John 1:11-14 NKJV) Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. {12} Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true. {13} I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink; {14} but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face. Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name. The context of this epistle is community. It was written to real people, about real people and situations. It speaks of "friends", "brethren", "fellow-workers", an "elder", "my children" and "strangers" i.e. traveling missionaries. (perhaps the word strangers would be better rendered "aliens" or people away from their home culture.) John obviously prefers face to face discipleship. He wants to be there, in their midst. For some reason he does not want to write with pen and ink, that is too distant, he wants immediacy, fellowship, contact. Christianity is an incarnate religion, where grace and truth find their expression in real human lives. It is not an ethic, an Idea or a theory that can be adequately contained in pen and ink but a living incarnation of God that can only truly be worked out in Spirit-filled community. Community is complex and Diotrephes was making it decidedly unpleasant. New leadership was needed and in this epistle Demetrius is anointed as the apostle's choice to lead that troubled community. Demetrius is put forward as a good example, as someone who walked in the truth, and was of good repute to all and commended by the apostle - whose testimony could be relied on. Sometimes leadership change is necessary and a bishop or higher authority has to step in and remove a negative leadership example and replace it with a better one. That is why churches should belong to networks of other churches and have some form of senior leadership. Either you can have the traditional hierarchy of pastor, bishop, archbishop etc or an apostolic system of traveling apostles and prophets. There is also the CEO model where churches are like franchises accountable to a central mega-church. Whatever the structure it should try to run along godly lines and Scriptural principles and must act decisively when community is threatened. Christians must not be left to suffer in misery under the rule of a tyrannical board or pastor. There is a point when correction must be brought to bear. Certainly it should not be heavy-handed and it is preferable if it follows the three-step process of Matthew 18. I have seen pastors dealt with very unjustly on the basis of rumors and without any evidence or discussion. Denominational officials should be impartial, thorough and gracious, walking carefully to preserve both people and pastor where possible. That said, they must act, and they should act with clarity and promptness to stop churches becoming toxic communities. A toxic community is one in which the relationships have been soured to the point where effective Christian discipleship is endangered or is no longer taking place. In the case of Diotrephes it had become run by an abusive and rejecting clique and the good people were suffering. Diotrephes was to be replaced by Demetrius, the abusiveness and rejection were to end and the good people and "friends' were to be welcomed back again. Thus Christianity is not just an individual thing, a "me and God against the world" personal faith. Christianity involves love, and love means community, whether a Trinity, a family or a church and the ultimate expression of the Christian faith is a city - the Heavenly Jerusalem. But community is complex, often painful, and can burn us very badly. Some people do not have the social skills to perform adequately in Christian community and these people struggle. Some find fellowship online. Others just end up lonely. I have written an article on the "Loneliness- Causes and Cures" at http://www.aibi.ph/articles/loneliness.htm to help people in this situation. Do we really need community - and the possibility of Diotrephes and pain and rejection and misunderstanding? Yes. There are dozens of "one another' commands in the New Testament and to obey Christ we must have a community in which to carry out His commands. Christian faith does not just require "contacts" it requires "friends" and "brothers". A good community, led by good examples, can be truly exciting and invigorating, a place of love and truth and grace. Much has recently been written about learning organizations and growing communities and discipleship happening through adventurous faith in loving communities. My own contribution to this is a study on how communities shape our beliefs and how the band of disciples that followed Jesus grew in their relationship with Him and one another. You can find this article online at: http://www.aibi.ph/ebooks/beq/10lcom.htm The Quakers refer to themselves as "The Society of Friends" as a result of the final words of 3 John "Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name." For the Quakers the church is a society of equals, equal in fellowship with God and one another, receiving directly from Jesus. They see themselves not as a corporation or as isolated individuals but as a group of Friends following their Lord and Master. Much like the early days of Jesus' ministry. This is a salutory concept whenever we get too much into big organizations and building programs. Fundamentally we are Friends, friends of Jesus (Luke 12:4, John 15:14,15), friends of one another and even friends of God (James 2:23). Friends like each other, want to be with one another and enjoy community together. In another epistle John writes: (1 John 1:3 NKJV) that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. Christian community is a fellowship of friends in the Spirit. Its going fishing together. Its sitting on a hillside with Jesus. Its not being entertained for an hour then drifting off without saying a word to anyone. Nor is it a lonely vigil in front of a TV or computer screen. Its breaking bread together, drinking wine together, praying together, worshiping together, with God in our midst. Blessings in Him, John Edmiston Asian Internet Bible Institute http://www.aibi.ph/ Free Online Bible And Ministry Training Dozens of free Christian ebooks: http://www.aibi.ph/ebooks/ Donate: http://www.aibi.ph/articles/donate.htm This devotional may be freely forwarded to others and used for non-profit ministry purposes as long as the following copyright notice is included. © Copyright John Edmiston 2003