Vital Signs (Part 3)--Dynamic
Our hospital emergency room analogy takes us to the
third vital sign that was both operative and observable in Paul’s
gospel team—dynamic. As noted in Parts 1 and 2, Acts 16:1-34
provides us with the real-life case history of the church planting
at Philippi. And again, what is true of church planters should also
be true of the churches they plant. Any local church that presents
with the same vital signs as those exhibited by Paul and his
associates is in good spiritual health.
Dynamic has to do with the working relationship that
exists between pastor and people, or (as we find in Acts 16) between
the team leader and his co-workers. The disciplined gospel team that
had embarked on this second mission journey reached Troas under the
direction of the Spirit of God. After they arrive at Troas, we are
made privy to the dynamic that any and every church must have in
order to flourish in terms of its spiritual health.
A brief glance at a first century Bible map will show
that Paul and his team moved basically west-by-northwest from
Cilicia (his home turf) to Phrygia and Galatia. At Phrygia they
purposed to travel due west to Asia, but the Spirit said “No!” They
continued to move west-by-northwest to the region of Mysia.
Now, with the Aegean Sea to their west, they
“assayed” that the next best move would be due east to Bithynia.
After all, they had no plans to do any trans-Aegean travel. A
retracement of the first mission journey was their stated purpose
(15:36), and it did not include maritime activity on Aegean Sea. But
again the Spirit said “No!” So they traveled a relatively short
distance southwest to Troas on the Aegean coast.
Can you see their dilemma? At Troas, Asia (a no-go)
is now to the south, Bithynia (another no-go) is to the east,
no-man’s land lies to the north, and the waters of the Aegean are to
the immediate west. Imagine a football team in the locker room at
halftime where running game, passing game and special teams have all
been non-factors in the first half. For our gospel team, Troas had
become that locker room…and the team was waiting for the Coach to
reveal his second-half plan. By the way, the next time you find
yourself at Troas with future on hold, keep in mind that it’s better
to be there with God than anywhere else without him!
Acts 16:9 tells us that “a vision appeared to Paul
in the night.” A man from Macedonia, in a standing position, was
beseeching Paul to come over (the waters of the Aegean) to help its
inhabitants. It matters not what Paul’s mental or physical state was
during the vision. The fact is the team needed a plan going forward,
and got exactly that in a supernatural revelation from the Coach.
And here is where the dynamic comes into play!
Note the relationship between the “he” and “we”
in 16:10: “after he [Paul] had seen the vision,
immediately we [co-workers] endeavored to go.” The leader
SAW it, and the team CAUGHT it! That which they CAUGHT was
considered to be a CALL to preach the gospel to the Macedonians!
Paul may have shared immediately what he saw, or perhaps waited
until morning. In any case, there was no dogmatism in sharing it,
such as: “Bless God, that’s what I saw, and that’s where we’re
going!” Paul was a wise leader, and knew that the best course of
action was to avoid acting like the Spirit and usurping his
direction. He shared the vision from his heart, and allowed time for
the Spirit who gave it to affirm and confirm its heavenly origin in
the hearts of co-workers.
Assuredly gathering is the Greek symbibazo,
meaning “to cause to coalesce, to join or put together, to unite or
knit together in an affectionate manner.” The verb is a present
active participle, nominative case. An expanded translation:
“We…were ones who kept on considering the vision until it knit us
together as one with a burden for the Macedonians.” What a dynamic!
This is the confidence-building work of the Spirit as he knits
together the hearts of co-workers regarding the will of God. It is a
vital sign without which no church can travel very far in its
service for Christ! It’s a thing of beauty when the Spirit melds
together the hearts of believers with regard to a vision and its
implementation. It’s especially thrilling when co-worker response is
virtually immediate!
Acts 16:1-10 represents the most desirable of working
relationships—a leader with gospel credibility shares a vision from
God that co-workers buy into with a view to implementation. Three
less-desirable scenarios are all too common. (1) The pastor has
vision, but the people never catch it. (2) The pastor has no vision,
but the people long for one. (3) The pastor has no vision, and the
people are perfectly content to live without one. Only the first of
the four is desirable. Which one is at work in your church? Bottom
line: A church lacking joint participation in a heavenly vision is
in poor spiritual health!
The local church that
exhibits the vital signs of personal discipline, Spirit-sanctioned
direction and a cooperative dynamic rooted in vision is in good
spiritual health without regard for other externals. Absent these
vital signs, a church, whether big or small, is a candidate for
intensive care…and perhaps life support!
Top |
