Singular Master

Finished the series on our church’s goals this weekend. One of the most important series we’ve taught so far. We’ve been praying that it would help the many middle-tier people understand why commitment and membership in a church is important. Surprisingly to me the teacher, an unplanned theme recurred every week. And that’s the demand of the Gospel to permeate every aspect of our lives. Modern people have a tendency towards dualism – divide their lives into sacred and profane. It’s idolatry, really – we section off areas that God will not reign over, and place another power/authority/love/value in His throne.

The “community of faith” resists this dualism because, as a family, we have the obligation to offer accountability and support in what we might think of as private areas of our lives. Who you’re dating, where you’re working, what you’re doing with your money,  and how you raise your kids may seem very personal categories, but they’re well within the limits of the concern of family.

Already wrote about this, but “worship” resists dualism because it declares all we do must be done for the glory of God. That a response to God’s person and works should spring out of every part of our lives.

This weekend’s message was about the importance of “training.” I guess I think about this a lot because I know that many of our church member will only be around for three or four years before they take off to some other city. There’s a ticking clock, so the question quickly rises: “what do they need to know before they go?” As they’re college students, training is a category they readily understand.

One of Luther’s great offenses was that he insisted that there was just as much calling in being a woodcutter as being a preacher. God has made us in His own image, gracing us with talents and abilities, specially gifting us for a certain type of work. Once again, the Gospel resists dualism – if your work is given to you by God, then He has expectations of you in that work. I pray that our students understand this – their job is about more than making a living or climbing ranks – it’s about serving their Heavenly Father. So as they receive mental training in the university to perform the job they feel called to in the future, in the church they receive the spiritual training necessary to glorify God at that future job.

What an amazing dream! That there would be students spreading all over China convinced that they were more than just lawyers, doctors, teachers, politicians, and scientists – they were vessels bearing the name of Christ!