Feature
Moving A Church Toward Gospel-Centeredness
by Jeff Louie
(Continued from Page 2)
“For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because they have rejected the law of the LORD and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed, I will send fire upon Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.” This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines.”
The two crimes of failing to love God and people are cited. How similar to Christ’s description of the two greatest commandments!
In Habakkuk 1:2-4, the book opens with the prophet’s cry for the intervention of God. What has upset the prophet? The lack of justice:
How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.
When the prophets are added into the discussion the minor theme of Leviticus 19:18 is no longer minor. The prophets declare that God’s people experienced his wrath when they failed to administer fairness, compassion and mercy; that is, when they failed to love their neighbor.
Christ is clear in stating the two greatest commandments. In his answer he unites and summarizes the whole Old Testament. To be sure, the Law never specified the top two commandments. Jesus, however, reveals the true spirit of it. To know God is to follow him and exercise compassion to one’s neighbors. This emphasis continues throughout the New Testament. In a gospel-centered approach, we need to uphold what Jesus defined as of utmost importance: to teach people to love God, and to teach people to love their neighbors.
In the history of our nation, orthodox Christianity has often failed to be champions of gracious compassion. Being an ethnic minority, I am aware of the history of slavery in our country and am sensitive to the prejudice and bigotry that exist. Often times orthodox Christianity speaks of the “glory days” in America’s past, and sounds the call to return to a time when we were “under God.” But whose glory days were they? For the African American living in slavery, or emancipated to live under Jim Crow laws? For Chinese railroad coolies discriminated by the 1882 Exclusion act, which basically said, “Thanks for your cheap labor, but Chinese women can’t immigrate, so you will be single for the rest of your life?” The civil rights movement was not led by orthodox Christians. What an embarrassment! Like the parable of the Good Samaritan, the heretic is the hero, closer to the ideals of God than his own people. Those who claim to know the true God prove to be the villain.
Measuring A Church’s Love For It’s Neighbors
Having given thought to the biblical basis for a gospel-centered approach to social interaction, a few practical questions will now be given to evaluate our congregations’ engagement in this ministry.
- Is it to be positive, interactive, and helpful to the real needs in the community?
Much attention has been given to the role of the religious right in elections. Abortion and homosexuality are the issues; they are the “litmus tests.” For many Christians, the church’s role in society should take a decidedly political emphasis based upon these moral issues. Social involvement, therefore, is predominately fighting the decay by voting people into office who will change laws to stem the moral decline. This approach tends to be combative, developing an “us against them” mentality in order to get out the vote.
A gospel-centered church needs to proclaim both positive and negative truths to society, but the ministry must go beyond verbal proclamation; there needs to be gracious interaction with the community. This is how Jesus lived. I often tell my congregation that there are the red and black letters in the Gospels. In the red letters, Jesus is the tough-talking Messiah who calls his followers to give it all for God. He is not afraid to speak of the judgment to come. But in the black letters, Jesus is the most compassionate person one could ever meet. He is a tireless minister of grace, who will demonstrate this ultimately by dying for us.
- Are our ministries of gracious compassion to the community substantial?
Most churches have some type of compassion ministry. Often it is reactive in nature, helping only those who come our way. Others times, they are small in degree, relegated to a handful of dedicated individuals. For example, there might be a ministry to the poor, but participation is also poor. This is because ministries of grace to the community are not really regarded as foundational ministries of our churches. They exist, but they are not that important. They wouldn’t be missed if they ended. This tokenism is unacceptable. If compassionate grace to others is the second greatest commandment, this work has to be important and substantial.
- Are our workers voluntary and the services free of charge?
While such ministries may include paid staff, volunteer participation is the true measure of the spirit of compassion that exists in the culture of a church. A corollary to this is that the service provided to the community should be free if possible. If we must require some payment, it should be nominal. Remember, the Good Samaritan paid the entire bill for the injured person!
For seventeen years, I pastored Sunset Church. In steering my church to become gospel-centered, three barriers had to be broken. First, I came to an existing church. It was not a church plant. It had a ten-year history prior to my arrival, and that history was not stellar. It was a small church that had a lot of infighting. It was carnal in spirit. Second, it is located in the city of San Francisco. It’s reputation of not being the bastion of Christian orthodoxy is well earned. Besides the political and moral climate, there is the ongoing exodus of families to the suburbs. Family-based churches like Sunset Church have a difficult time surviving. Third, we are a bilingual church. Our legal name is still “Sunset Chinese Baptist Church.” The bilingual Chinese church in North America has a unique cultural flavor: ethnicity takes precedent over theology. Whether one is Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Christian and Missionary Alliance, or Evangelical Free, the Chinese denominational church is, first and foremost, “Chinese” in character. These churches have the same feel, regardless of denomination and theology. This ethnic emphasis naturally lends itself to a subconscious isolation from the different ethnicities around us. Perhaps the isolationist tendency was forced upon the ethnic church in America because of the prejudice, poverty and immigration issues of prior generations. Yet the ethnic church, whether as a consequence of our origins or our language limitations, still leans toward an isolationism.
Barriers notwithstanding, Sunset Church has begun a gospel-centered transformation. At the heart of our church is a phrase that I constantly restate: “Proclaim boldly and live graciously.” This simple statement allows me to speak on all kinds of issues during Sunday worship, including the hot ones of homosexuality and abortion. I probably make mention of the “judgment to come” twice a month in my messages. But I do not see myself as a “fire and brimstone” preacher. I speak on difficult issues with grace. I never demonize the community around us. The congregation leaves with a sense of what “I” need to do in my life, and never with an anger against “those humanistic-secularists in San Francisco who are going to hell.” The bold proclamation of truth in grace is of utmost importance.
But there is another facet of ministry at Sunset Church. It is that of “living graciously.” Between the opening worship set and the sermon is our “Community Time” that ranges from 10 to 20 minutes. We do three things during Community Time: 1) we greet each other; 2) we announce upcoming ways to get involved; and, 3) we have a time of intercessory prayer. I use this time to remind the congregation that our faith has to go beyond singing songs and listening to a message; that we need to express our faith to the outside world and care for people other than ourselves. Community Time is when we connect with others. Everyone who attends our worship service is aware of what we do in our community.
Sunset Church is not a perfect church; we have a long way to go. But we have made great strides in becoming a church that seeks to demonstrate love to our neighbors. The following are things we have done and, in some cases, continue to do:
