“…and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship…” Exodus 35:31Repeatedly throughout the book of Exodus we see God endowing the children of Israel with wisdom, knowledge and understanding for all manner of craftsmanship, workmanship, and leadership. I do not imagine that following their grasp of situations they sat amongst themselves and debated patents or copyrights. The people fully understood that the knowledge they so recently found themselves privy to was entirely from God. We seem to have lost this ability over the last few thousand years.
I have wondered often if this pattern existed in the early church. Can you imagine Matthew, Mark, Luke and John suing each other over coming up with the same story? Well… no. We understand today that there was a purpose and reason for having the same story told from four different viewpoints. Is the same God that orchestrated those circumstances still in control of His Church? As I look over the history of the Church I see the same thing occurring over and over. Every time there is a great surge forward in the Church, it is a result of several contributors all moving in the Spirit and approaching the topic from different vantage points. The reformation was a prime example of this happening in history. We attribute much of the reformation to Martin Luther but there were many other emerging leaders of that time that were preaching a similar message independent of each other. Johannes Hus, John Wycliffe, and John Calvin among a few were all influencing voices of their time. They all condemned the practices of the existing Church and ushered in a message of grace. Although they all seemed to come from a different viewpoint you can clearly see in retrospect that the Spirit of God was moving in and through these men to reform the Church and bring her closer to God.
A more contemporary example is the movement in teaching and expounding on spiritual gifts and how they are to be used in the body of Christ. Some names that pop out at us from this movement are Charles Stanley, Brian Carraway, Bill Gothard, and many other names that are denomination specific. I am not condemning or espousing any particular view, just suggesting that perhaps there is something greater than just one man that God is trying to teach His Church so that we may learn and grow.
In a more personal example, I wrote a book in 2008 that I was a bit nervous about as I had not heard anyone else teach on this particular topic or viewpoint. I slowly and cautiously sought counsel and input on the information presented. One year later a friend forwarded me an audio clip of a woman teaching on the same topic. Not only was it the same topic but it seemed as if she had followed the same exact course of research that I had followed. I experienced several emotions at that time. One emotion was panic as the prideful side of me wanted to cling to what I thought was mine. But another was tremendous relief that I was not crazy or far-fetched in my conclusions. I realized at that point that I had no right to feel envy over her platform and that I should be praising God that truth was prevailing and coming forward to provide insight and healing to others.
In another personal example a few years ago my sister had been praying long and hard about the direction of women’s ministry in her church and district and had come up with what she felt was a truly Spirit-led model to follow. Not long after that someone else was recognized and praised for the exact model she had come with and I recall she was devastated over this development. I knew exactly how she felt but I also knew how to encourage her. There were two possible options for why this occurred. The first is that perhaps God was moving in a major way amongst the women of her denomination and had given the same plan to several different people to assure that it would be implemented. After all, do we not see that God has done this over and over throughout history? The second option is that the person knew she it was a model she had proposed and failed to give credit where credit was due. It happens… it is rude… but it happens and is usually just a result of professional ignorance and underdevelopment. Time and maturity usually cure this.
*On a side note, it really is important to recognize others for their contributions no matter what. It is a tremendously powerful way to exhort, encourage, and confirm to an individual the validity of their own spiritual maturity and development. We empower one another when we appropriately attribute credit to one another; we tear the body down when we do not.
And now we arrive at the motivation behind why I felt the need to write this particular blog. It had to do with a particular status update on my “not-so-healthy” pastime, Facebook. One man was giving an update on the exciting new and transformational things happening in his church. One of the readers commented that he was simply copying another man’s ministry model. Now I am not going to deduce anyone’s motives I am merely interpreting this in the manner with which it came across to me. I know both of these men and have seen them “do” ministry over the last 30 years. Both are fully capable of hearing from God and allowing His Spirit to work and move through them. Both men are also extremely mature in spiritual matters and courtesy and would never take credit for the others’ work without giving proper credit. So knowing both these men the way that I do, I must conclude that both are hearing the same message from God on what He desires for the next step of growth in His Church. Its application and implementation will take on many different forms because the men’s ministries and gifts are different. My assessment is that no one is copying anyone else’s ministry model; they are simply listening to the SAME God and following His direction. It is the role of the Spirit to bind and unite us together to serve as one body and we may have faith that He is indeed doing this. Ministry models do not belong to man... they belong to God. We are only conduits of His greater plan.
And so I end this post with some suggestions. 1) Give credit to one another, building each other up, when we discover and recognize truths. 2) Ask God what He is attempting to teach the Church on a grander scale when you notice a pattern in teaching and ministry. 3) Acknowledge that the true reward for listening to God and following His direction will ultimately be rewarded when we stand before His throne and He says to us, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” 4) And finally, we are a Church that is built on love and as such there is no place for pride and envy in a healthy Church. Let go of your personal proprietary concerns and celebrate the purposes of God expanding, growing and coming into fullness.
