{"id":115,"date":"2011-12-09T20:46:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-10T02:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/sjb11a\/?p=115"},"modified":"2013-02-28T18:53:37","modified_gmt":"2013-03-01T00:53:37","slug":"case-brief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/sjb11a\/2011\/12\/09\/case-brief\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Brief (Revised)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Case Brief<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Steven J. Brice<\/p>\n

Abilene Christian University<\/p>\n

BIBM 603.01<\/p>\n

Foundations of Theology<\/p>\n

Professor Johnson & Thompson<\/p>\n

December 9th<\/sup>, 2011<\/p>\n

A Common Crisis in a Congregation regarding Change<\/strong><\/p>\n

The decision for a faith community to change in order to be relevant within their communal context has become a common crisis among congregations.\u00a0 Perhaps this crisis has been common ever since Christ established the church. Hence, the Jews needed to adjust to the Gentiles being a part of the family of God.\u00a0 A more recent example is the acceptance of African Americans as part of the family of God by Caucasian Americans and vice versa.\u00a0 God\u2019s people all throughout the history of the church had to deal with change of some sort.\u00a0 Change has become a part of the story of God in His kingdom.\u00a0 God has allowed His people to come face to face with theology and culture.\u00a0 God does not hide His people from the constant transitions and transcendence of the world.\u00a0 Yet, He allows His people to make the decisions to see if personal theology must change in such a way where culture may see the relevancy of God.\u00a0 Can everyday theology be formed in such a way that the world may see that the \u201cGod of the past\u201d is also the \u201cGod of the present\u201d?<\/p>\n

Northside Church of Christ<\/strong><\/p>\n

An example of a common crisis within a church regarding change is the case of the Northside Church of Christ in North Carolina.\u00a0 The Northside Church of Christ is a church that resides in suburban North Carolina.\u00a0 This eldership-led church is primarily filled with seasoned saints that have labored in that congregation for many years.\u00a0 The church is located twenty miles from a growing metropolitan city named Charlotte. With many changes occurring surrounding the church, the Elders decided to hire a new pulpit minister by the name of John.<\/p>\n

John\u2019s job as the new pulpit minister was to oversee the growth of the church through
\npreaching and new members outreach. Within the case story, John appears to be a preacher with vision.\u00a0 He has been the preacher for the Northside church of Christ for two years and is responsible for the changes that have occurred.\u00a0 He foresaw the changing
\nclimate of the communities surrounding the church.\u00a0 Therefore, he knew what changes the church needed to embrace and implement in order for the church to be relevant within
\nthe community.\u00a0 John, the visionary and progressive leader observes the world that is surrounding the church.\u00a0 It appears that John has studied the community and sees\u2019 a glimpse of what the community will look like in the future.\u00a0 John, whom the elders hired to
\noversee the growth of the church, recognizes that in order for the church to grow numerically, the church must grow out of some traditions and embrace a more relevant culture.<\/p>\n

When there is a need for growth, leaders like John understand that the responsibility of
\ngrowing a church is not solely the job of one man.\u00a0 In order for a church to grow spiritual and numerically, it takes an army of ministers of Christ who live and work in the Kingdom of God.\u00a0 The witnessing of the life of God in the Kingdom will then invite those who are called and commissioned to serve as ambassadors and servants of Christ to accomplish the work of God in that community.\u00a0 Therefore, John decided to hire additional individuals to collaborate with him as he helped guide the people of God to the work and life of God in that community.\u00a0 John encouraged the church\u2019s\u00a0Elder-ship\u00a0to hire Jack and Bob to serve in different ministries because of the additional staff, the worship, demographics, and attitude of the congregation began to change.<\/p>\n

In many religious organizations, when there is a need for change, spiritual leaders typically encounter resistance.\u00a0 The changes within the church resulted in it growing out of a traditional church with an older demographic towards more contemporary setting, attracting younger and more diverse group of people. For this reason, the lifelong members of this church were highly upset and spoke with the Eldership concerning John\u2019s leadership.\u00a0 The senior saints intentionally stagnated the progressive pace of the congregation by going to the elders.\u00a0 These long-time members obstructed the changes in an attempt to stop the fast pace development of the church.<\/p>\n

In an elders\u2019 meeting, Mary and Wayne, the voices of the senior saints, brought their trepidation to the elders concerning the changes occurring within the church.\u00a0 The older generation were felt uncomfortable with the contemporary songs within worship. These contemporary songs in worship were opening the doors for a younger generation to be able to come and meet God from their cultural perspective.<\/p>\n

In addition to contemporary songs sung in worship, the church felt uneasy with opening their doors and welcoming a group of people that were not like them. For example, Bill, an Elder saw an African American family in their midst during worship. John explained to all those who were in the elders meeting that he was not targeting any particular people or race, but he would talk with anyone who was willing to engage in dialogue.\u00a0 John was interested in ministering to all kinds of people rather than worry about the color of
\nsomeone\u2019s skin.\u00a0 Bill in replying to John informed him that the Northside Church of Christ is a segregated church and that it would always be one.\u00a0 The attitude of several of the members of the church shows a lack of interest in being a part of the ministry of reconciliation. If this attitude that was in opposition to the ministry of reconciliation
\nbecame prevalent, it would a global effect. George Yancey in discussing Christ\u2019s prayer for unity among believers writes, \u201cThe opposite of Jesus\u2019 prayer can happen as well.\u00a0 If Christians do not become one, the world will fail to know that Jesus has been sent by the Father.\u201d[1]<\/a>\u00a0 Christians must embrace a ministry of reconciliation in order to more fully express the love of Christ. Because of the attitudes expressed within the elder\u2019s meeting, John felt he had a tough decision to make.\u00a0 John could choose to forfeit his theology of the Kingdom of God, life, and mission for the comfort of the longtime members and the security of his job.\u00a0 Alternatively John could refuse to be stagnant and irrelevant in a growing community and immerse himself somewhere else.\u00a0 The case is a common crisis within congregations that are facing change.\u00a0 Change has and will forever be a struggle to
\nmany who are content with how things normally are.<\/p>\n

Theology of Communal Change<\/strong><\/p>\n

When a group of people become accustomed to a culture and embraced it as life, the
\nchallenges of implementing a new custom is legitimate.\u00a0 Within the Old Testament, we see a story of God working and dealing with His people, the Children of Israel.\u00a0 The narrative of the Old Testament reveals that God instilled into His people a way of life.\u00a0 Hence, the laws of God were a way of life.\u00a0 One passage says \u201cHappy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.\u201d[2]<\/a>\u00a0 God\u2019s chosen people, lived under the law of God, and this law was their custom. Within the New Testament, Jesus introduced a new teaching, a new law, and a new way of living that over shadowed the old teachings, the old law, and the old way of life.<\/p>\n

A man who claimed to be the Messiah introduced a new way of living.\u00a0 His disciples went all over the known world to proclaim the Lordship of Christ.\u00a0 These teachings explained that people were no longer righteous (saved) by the works of the law, but by the grace of God. Within this new way of life, every Jew and non-Jew had access to God.\u00a0 As result of this new life, an enormous crisis arose within the church. The Jews wanted to accept Christ yet wanted to uphold the old way of life.\u00a0 In addition to this, they wanted the Gentiles to not only accept Christ but also embrace the old way of life.\u00a0 All through the teachings and writing of the New Testament, Paul would combat and confront these teachings by reminded the Jews and the Gentiles that in Christ there is a new way of living.<\/p>\n

The new way of life in Christ encouraged and commanded the Jews to accept all men just as Christ accepts all men.\u00a0 Upon Christ\u2019s death on the cross, God reveals his plan for unification when, \u201cthe curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.\u201d[3]<\/a>\u00a0 To the Jews, the curtain or veil had a significant meaning behind it.\u00a0 It was the curtain within the temple that hid the very presence of God.\u00a0 Only the High Priest had access once a year
\nto offer sacrifices to God for the sins of the people.\u00a0 If one entered into the presence of God, without the proper accolades, the immediate results was death.\u00a0 When Christ died on the cross, the curtain split from the top to bottom leaving what kept hidden the presence of God exposed to everybody.<\/p>\n

When Christ died, the Holy of Holies was not just exposed to the High Priest and Jews, but also exposed the Gentiles to the presence of God.\u00a0 Therefore through Christ all men are drawn to God. In fact, it does not matter what nationality or family origin one is; in Christ everyone is a new creation.\u00a0 Because God revealed the love of Christ to all men through Christ, all men are reconciled to God, Paul says \u201cFrom now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view\u2026\u201d[4]<\/a> This was a constant difficulty for the Jews.\u00a0 The Jews were so proud to be a Jews that they did not want to let go of their nationality to embrace other nationalities. Paul continues saying \u201cif anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

For Jews, this was quite an adjustment.\u00a0 To change their way of life to embrace a new customs to maintain the unity within the church was challenging.\u00a0 The work of God through the cross of Christ is bringing all men to one body creating a new culture and a new way of life.\u00a0 To love all men and be in fellowship with all men has become a common crisis in congregations that are looking into change.\u00a0 The common crisis does not look the same for every congregation; however, there are commonalities within the diverse situations.\u00a0 Therefore, if churches are going to join God in His new creation and new culture, the
\nchurch must remember that this is the work of God.\u00a0 One writer states that, \u201cIt was God who authored human diversity.\u00a0 This fact calls all of us to deal with cultural diversity, see it as he sees it \u2013 as good \u2013 and honor it as handiwork of the wise and sovereign Creator.\u201d[6]<\/a>\u00a0 Christianity appears to be about the ministry of reconciliation.\u00a0 God invites and even
\ncommands for those who have been reconciled to be work within the ministry of
\nreconciliation.\u00a0 One writer in discussing the lifestyle of reconciliation states, \u201cThe Word of God is not just saying that reconciliation is a good idea. Rather, Paul informs us that the ministry of reconciliation is a mandatory <\/em>part of every Christian\u2019s daily living.\u201d[7]<\/a>\u00a0 The ministry of reconciliation does not discriminate with age, nationality, or color.<\/p>\n

Churches that believe in the Gospel of Christ must realize that the goodness draws all men to Christ.\u00a0 The era of racial, theological, and age-segregated churches are not what God designed the church to be.\u00a0 God through Christ purposed for the church to embrace all kinds of people.\u00a0 From a missionalogical<\/em> perspective, \u201ca hermeneutical method to give congregations a mean of reliably focusing their evangelism on a Christ-centered gospel \u2013 a method that, instead of seeking new ways of faith sharing, make the starting point of evangelism the gospel itself, thereby releasing much latent power and grace, and more surely avoiding the snares of enculturation.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

Remedy for the Crisis<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the case of the Northside church, John might have attempted to move too quickly.\u00a0 John was the Northside church pulpit minister for only two years.\u00a0 Perhaps the church had
\nnot fully adjusted to John or even fully trusted him.\u00a0 This is not to say that the church was
\ncautious or suspicious of John, but that the relationship between John and the church had not fully developed.\u00a0 Gilbert Rendle relates an illustration of a sales person attempting to sell some appliances to a customer to the situation of a minister trying to lead a congregation to change.. Rendle states<\/p>\n

\u201cif you go to a store to buy a refrigerator \u2013 and you happen to be in a store that actually still has salespeople \u2013 the salesperson will quite naturally want and need to learn about<\/em>
\n you before beginning the conversation about the kind of refrigerator you want to buy.\u00a0 By learning about you, the salesperson will then be able to educate you about what you need \u2026 If it takes such work to buy a refrigerator, which is fairly basic and standard part of our homes, consider what is takes to understand a congregation and its specific<\/em>
\n call to ministry<\/em>.\u201d[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

Perhaps John needed to spend more time immersed in his ministry context and slowly led the people of God into recognizing the life and work of God thereby encouraging them to participate in the work.\u00a0 The people needed more time to see Gods will for an inclusive and loving church to be able to reflect and embrace it.\u00a0 It is vitally important that leaders slowly guide a group of people through vision. When God shares a vision to a leader, the people who have a heart after God will slowly realize what God would want them to do.\u00a0 It is through the avenue of vision where citizens of the Kingdom of God will see that the life and work of God is bigger than they are.\u00a0 One writer puts it like this, \u201cIt is vision that takes us beyond ourselves, putting our lives in the context of eternity\u2026\u201d[10]<\/a>\u00a0 When the people of God become aware of the vision of God, they come into the mind of God. They begin to see how God views this world and what He would like the world to become.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

In conclusion, the mission of God for reconciliation needs to continue toward completion because the influence of the devil on earth is too prevalent.\u00a0 John must wrap himself in the heart and mind of the Spirit and therefore be led by Him. Though it appears that John and the congregation are walking on two different spiritual trails, John must not allow the frustrations of the congregation distract him from his communion with God.\u00a0 John must follow the example of Moses and retreat to the mountain of God and wait for His presence to shine and direct him in the way he should go.<\/p>\n

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Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Holy Bible (New Revised Standard Version & New American Standard Bible).<\/li>\n
  2. Elmer, Duane, Cross-Cultural Conflict<\/em>: Building Relationships for Effective Ministry. Illinois: Downers Grove, 1993.<\/li>\n
  3. Gaede, S., Belonging<\/em>. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985.<\/li>\n
  4. Kehrein, Glen and Washington, Raleigh, Breaking Down Walls: A Model for
    \nReconciliation in an Age of Racial Strife<\/em>. Chicago: Moody, 1993.<\/li>\n
  5. Rendle, Gilbert, Leading Change in the Congregation: Spiritual and Organizational\u00a0 Tools for Leaders<\/em>. Herndon: The Alban Institute, 1998.<\/li>\n
  6. Watson, David L. \u201cChrist All in All: The Recovery of the Gospel for Evangelism in the United States.\u201d Pages 177-197 in The Church Between Gospel and Culture: The Emerging Mission in North America<\/em>. Edited by George R. Hunsburger & Craig V. Gelder. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.<\/li>\n
  7. Yancey, George, Beyond Racial Gridlock<\/em>. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2006.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \n
    \n

    [1]<\/a> Yancey, George, Beyond Racial Gridlock<\/em> (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2006), pg. 114.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    [2]<\/a> Psalm 119:1 (N.R.S.V).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    [3]<\/a> Mark 15:38 (N.R.S.V).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    [4]<\/a> II Corinthians 5:16 (N.R.S.V).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    [5]<\/a> II Corinthians 5:17 (N.A.S.B).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    [6]<\/a> Elmer, Duane, Cross-Cultural Conflict<\/em>: Building Relationships for Effective Ministry (Illinois: Downers Grove, 1993), pg. 23.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    [7]<\/a> Kehrein, Glen and Washington, Raleigh, Breaking Down Walls: A Model for Reconciliation in an Age of Racial Strife<\/em> (Chicago: Moody, 1993), pg. 107.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    [8]<\/a> Watson, David L. \u201cChrist All in All: The Recovery of the Gospel for Evangelism in the United States.\u201d Pages 177-197 in The Church Between Gospel and Culture: The Emerging Mission in North America<\/em>. Edited by George R. Hunsburger & Craig V. Gelder. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996, pg. 187.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    [9]<\/a> Rendle, Gilbert, Leading Change in the Congregation: Spiritual and Organizational Tools for Leaders<\/em> (Herndon: The Alban Institute, 1998), pg. 6-7.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    [10]<\/a> Gaede, S., Belonging<\/em> (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985), pg. 155.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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