Church Planting In Ephesus
Acts 19
I’d like us to spend a season in Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church with our weekly ‘Holding Fast’ devotions. The New Testament Scriptures provide us with a wonderful portrait of ‘body life’ in a local church through the first century Ephesian church. We probably have more information about this group of believers over a larger span of time than any other fellowship we encounter throughout the New Testament. First, there is the extended narrative in Acts 19 describing the Apostle Paul’s labors there during his third missionary journey. There is the very personal and tearful sermon delivered by Paul to the elders of the Ephesian church at the shore of Miletus, recorded by Luke in Acts 20:17-38. And of course we have Paul’s prison epistle to the Ephesians, written (depending upon whom you rely) between 58-63 AD. We also have the ‘Pastoral Epistles’ which were written at the end of Paul’s life to Timothy (1 and 2 Timothy), his young protégé whom he had left to shepherd the church in Ephesus, and to Titus, who pastored the church in Crete). Finally, there is a letter to the Ephesian church from the Lord himself, by the hand of John, in Revelation 2, part of the Lord’s letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor.
As I was preparing for our time in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians for our college retreat and for this weekly exposition, I was fascinated by the way in which Jesus planted churches through the Apostles. In the book of Acts we find a intriguingcombination of the Apostles exercising wisdom and strategy with a faithfulness to God’s Word and reliance upon supernatural intervention. We can learn a great deal from the birth of the Ephesian church in the book of Acts, as well as Paul’s exhortations to the church in his letter some years later. I pulled some of the rather interesting methods that the Lord used in starting this fellowship in Ephesus from Acts 19. We might do well to consider them.
1. Start with a ‘launch team’ of 12 men filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:7).
2. Find a venue where you might have some influence (for Paul it was the synagogue) to boldly proclaim the gospel and reason with people daily about the kingdom of God. Do this every day for at least three months, or until people are thoroughly sick of you and begin persecuting you (Acts 19:8-9).
3. After you are kicked out of this venue, find a place to rent out and continue this business of preaching, teaching, reasoning and persuading daily. Do this for about three years (Acts 19:9-10).
4. Pray for wacky and miraculous things to happen. Cast out evil spirits and such (Acts 19:11-16).
5. Pray and preach in such a way that people are filled with fear and Jesus is praised (Acts 19:17).
6. Hold a prayer meeting that includes an extended time of public confession (Acts 19:18).
7. After your time of public confession, have a big bonfire party and burn a bunch of books (Acts 19:19).
8. After your time of public confession and book burning, collect massive amounts of money from the people for the mission of the gospel (Acts 19:19).
9. Hire a pastor who refuses to let you pay him, has absolutely ridiculous strategies and goals for his ministry and the mission of the church, and leaves young and inexperienced men to take over the ministries he begins (Acts 20:34; 19:21-23).
10. Stir up a city wide riot by preaching against idolatry and pagan worship (Acts 19:23-41).
11. Don’t be surprised by, and actually anticipate, encouraging and uplifting promises from God like, “Bonds and afflictions await you in every city!” (Acts 20:23)
12. Have another prayer meeting, encourage the folks, and leave (Acts 20:1).
It is interesting that there is nothing in Acts 19-20 about what kind of praise band you should have, how much parking should be available, whether or not you should serve Starbucks at coffee break (and spend more $ on that than you do on global missions), how casual your hip and cool pastor should dress, or getting up to speed on the latest philosophical trend. Rather, there is a strong emphasis upon the proclamation of the gospel (even above the ‘contextualization’ of the gospel, not that these need to be mutually exclusive); the need for repentance and transformation; a radical obedience amidst moral chaos; bold and courageous leadership; the confrontation of worldliness and satanic schemes with the truth and grace of God; and a clear,Christ-like love for the lost and a desire for their salvation at all costs.
We find in this narrative something of how God births a church and how he intends a church to be maintained and sustained. Do such things mark our efforts in planting and sustaining healthy churches today? Are your expectations for ‘church life’ in line with God’s Word, which plainly calls the mission of the church a cosmic struggle against “principalities, powers and rulers of the darkness of this world” (Eph. 6:12)? Perhaps you are more inclined toward the idols of American comfort, convenience and consumption? Let’s meet the challenge of Acts 19 and Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as we seek to honor his commission and calling upon our lives as his children and as the family of God.
I’d like us to spend a season in Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church with our weekly ‘Holding Fast’ devotions. The New Testament Scriptures provide us with a wonderful portrait of ‘body life’ in a local church through the first century Ephesian church. We probably have more information about this group of believers over a larger span of time than any other fellowship we encounter throughout the New Testament. First, there is the extended narrative in Acts 19 describing the Apostle Paul’s labors there during his third missionary journey. There is the very personal and tearful sermon delivered by Paul to the elders of the Ephesian church at the shore of Miletus, recorded by Luke in Acts 20:17-38. And of course we have Paul’s prison epistle to the Ephesians, written (depending upon whom you rely) between 58-63 AD. We also have the ‘Pastoral Epistles’ which were written at the end of Paul’s life to Timothy (1 and 2 Timothy), his young protégé whom he had left to shepherd the church in Ephesus, and to Titus, who pastored the church in Crete). Finally, there is a letter to the Ephesian church from the Lord himself, by the hand of John, in Revelation 2, part of the Lord’s letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor.
As I was preparing for our time in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians for our college retreat and for this weekly exposition, I was fascinated by the way in which Jesus planted churches through the Apostles. In the book of Acts we find a intriguingcombination of the Apostles exercising wisdom and strategy with a faithfulness to God’s Word and reliance upon supernatural intervention. We can learn a great deal from the birth of the Ephesian church in the book of Acts, as well as Paul’s exhortations to the church in his letter some years later. I pulled some of the rather interesting methods that the Lord used in starting this fellowship in Ephesus from Acts 19. We might do well to consider them.
1. Start with a ‘launch team’ of 12 men filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:7).
2. Find a venue where you might have some influence (for Paul it was the synagogue) to boldly proclaim the gospel and reason with people daily about the kingdom of God. Do this every day for at least three months, or until people are thoroughly sick of you and begin persecuting you (Acts 19:8-9).
3. After you are kicked out of this venue, find a place to rent out and continue this business of preaching, teaching, reasoning and persuading daily. Do this for about three years (Acts 19:9-10).
4. Pray for wacky and miraculous things to happen. Cast out evil spirits and such (Acts 19:11-16).
5. Pray and preach in such a way that people are filled with fear and Jesus is praised (Acts 19:17).
6. Hold a prayer meeting that includes an extended time of public confession (Acts 19:18).
7. After your time of public confession, have a big bonfire party and burn a bunch of books (Acts 19:19).
8. After your time of public confession and book burning, collect massive amounts of money from the people for the mission of the gospel (Acts 19:19).
9. Hire a pastor who refuses to let you pay him, has absolutely ridiculous strategies and goals for his ministry and the mission of the church, and leaves young and inexperienced men to take over the ministries he begins (Acts 20:34; 19:21-23).
10. Stir up a city wide riot by preaching against idolatry and pagan worship (Acts 19:23-41).
11. Don’t be surprised by, and actually anticipate, encouraging and uplifting promises from God like, “Bonds and afflictions await you in every city!” (Acts 20:23)
12. Have another prayer meeting, encourage the folks, and leave (Acts 20:1).
It is interesting that there is nothing in Acts 19-20 about what kind of praise band you should have, how much parking should be available, whether or not you should serve Starbucks at coffee break (and spend more $ on that than you do on global missions), how casual your hip and cool pastor should dress, or getting up to speed on the latest philosophical trend. Rather, there is a strong emphasis upon the proclamation of the gospel (even above the ‘contextualization’ of the gospel, not that these need to be mutually exclusive); the need for repentance and transformation; a radical obedience amidst moral chaos; bold and courageous leadership; the confrontation of worldliness and satanic schemes with the truth and grace of God; and a clear,Christ-like love for the lost and a desire for their salvation at all costs.
We find in this narrative something of how God births a church and how he intends a church to be maintained and sustained. Do such things mark our efforts in planting and sustaining healthy churches today? Are your expectations for ‘church life’ in line with God’s Word, which plainly calls the mission of the church a cosmic struggle against “principalities, powers and rulers of the darkness of this world” (Eph. 6:12)? Perhaps you are more inclined toward the idols of American comfort, convenience and consumption? Let’s meet the challenge of Acts 19 and Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as we seek to honor his commission and calling upon our lives as his children and as the family of God.
Labels: Ephesians
posted by Pastor Erik at
8:15 PM
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