The Ideal Church Family

July 30, 2008

Jude 1:8-13

“Yet in the same way these dreamers also defile the flesh, reject authority, and slander the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael contended with the devil and disputed about the body of Moses, he did not dare to bring a condemnation of slander against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these people slander whatever they do not understand, and they are destroyed by those things that, like irrational animals, they know by instinct. Woe to them! For they go the way of Cain, and abandon themselves to Balaam’s error for the sake of gain and perish in Korah’s rebellion. These are blemishes on your love-feasts, while they feast with you without fear, feeding themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds, autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever.”

I have just returned from my family reunion where every year anywhere from 75 to 200 people who call themselves members of the Fuller Family gather for a couple of days to play games, update each other, dine together and profess their gratitude that for generations we have been a God-fearing family. No reunion passes without prayer and we are blessed with the chance to learn of each other’s spiritual growth.
It strikes me that the church should be the same way. Each week we should have fun together, update each other, fellowship and be grateful for our relationships with God. But like the Fullers, we should also hold each other accountable for our spiritual growth and development.
In this section of the book of Jude, the author seems like he’s all over the place. He understands that he cannot communicate with the false teachers solely on his own authority as a pastor. They can easily overlook such authority but in Jude’s mind, it is much harder to balk at the texts of their Jewish Christian heritage. He refers to stories taken from The Testament of Moses, a pseudopigraphal work. He acknowledges stories from the Torah and ultimately he calls the false teachers and all of the people to understand that our salvation is worked out daily in the context of our relationships with God and with each other. The main point of this passage is that we must be obedient to God and committed to rolling up our sleeves to do the work of faith. We must constantly and consistently seek God and not turn toward ourselves in self-reliance. This part is the kicker . . . that any part of our fellowship that fails to nurture his/her relationship with God serves to negate the ministry of the church.
That last part is difficult for moderate minded people to grasp. We want to include everyone and in our inclusiveness we run the risk of exposing ourselves to influences that take us away from what it means to live a Christian life and to be the church. There is a balance of course.
I guarantee you that if you show up at a Fuller Family Reunion we will embrace you and love you but you will also be required to pay homage to the God we serve and who has blessed our lives. I guarantee Jude would have said the same. This should be the perspective of the church as well.
So the question remains, is it? Is this the perspective you witness in your church? Or do you witness people showing up for socializing and networking purposes? Maybe there are even leaders selected in the church who fail to let God be the guide for their decisions and thus steer the church wrongly! Could it be that the church is failing to be the church? Might this be the crisis of the moderate church in 2008? And, if so, what would it take to set a new course? I hope when you answer these questions for your church you find that every person is daily dedicated to the seeking of God’s direction for their lives. I also must confess my surprise if that is true! Yet still I hope! May it be so! Amen.