The Unfinished Church E-Book

Rob Bentz

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

"I love Jesus but hate the church." We hear this kind of talk all the time, but what if it's profoundly mistaken? Rob Bentz challenges readers to rethink this popular—yet ultimately harmful—mentality. Drawing on his experience as a pastor, Bentz helps those disenchanted with the church to rediscover its importance for the Christian life by examining the biblical, theological, and historical reasons why Christ's followers should embrace gospel-centered community—even when it's hard. Honest yet hopeful, The Unfinished Church provides an encouraging look at God's ultimate building project: his church.

Leseprobe

THE UNFINISHED CHURCH

GOD’S BROKEN AND REDEEMED WORK-IN-PROGRESS

ROB BENTZ

The Unfinished Church: God’s Broken and Redeemed Work-in-Progress

Copyright © 2014 by Robert R. Bentz

Published by Crossway

1300 Crescent Street

Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law.

Published in association with the literary agency of Credo Communications, LLC, Grand Rapids, MI 49525; www.credocommunications.net.

Cover design: Keane Fine

First printing 2014

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. 2011 Text Edition. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture references marked NLT are from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Ill., 60189. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4335-4006-6PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-4007-3Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-4008-0ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-4009-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bentz, Rob, 1969–

   The unfinished church : God’s broken and redeemed work-in-progress / Rob Bentz.

       1 online resource.

    Includes bibliographical references and index.

    Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

    ISBN 978-1-4335-4007-3 (pdf) – ISBN 978-1-4335-4008-0 (mobi) – ISBN 978-1-4335-4009-7 (epub) – ISBN 978-1-4335-4006-6 (tp)

    1. Church.   I. Title.

BV600.3

262—dc23            2014008971

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

To Bonnie

My wife, best friend, encourager,idea generator, editor, and fellow journeyer.This book has your fingerprints all over it.You make me, and everything I do, better.I love you.

To Reid and Bethany

Your easy smiles, bold laughter,and heartwarming hugs bring me immense joy.I couldn’t be more thankful for you,or more proud of who you are.May your love for God and his unfinishedchurch continue to grow.

Contents

AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPART 1The Foundation1   God’s Called-Out Community2   God’s Redeemed CommunityPART 2The Construction3   God’s Eclectic, Intriguing, and QuirkyConstruction Crew4   Love One Another: It Really Is about Jesus5   Encourage One Another: Giving a Blast ofGospel-Centered Truth6   Serve One Another: Putting Our Hands into Action—and More7   Dwell in Unity: Jesus Loves His Church,So You Should TooPART 3The Completion8   Jesus Finishes His Building ProjectNotesGeneral IndexScripture Index

Acknowledgments

This book is written because of the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is only because of the grace that God has offered me through his Son, Jesus, that I have been called, redeemed, and made part of his unfinished church. And it is only through the work of the Spirit in my life that I have anything at all to write. So, above all else, I must acknowledge the amazing grace that God has shown to me. I’m humbled by it all.

I am deeply grateful for the people God has used both in my spiritual life and in the writing of this book:

A group of people I affectionately refer to as the Unfinished Team spent time reading each chapter, offering feedback and encouragement, and praying for me throughout the writing process. This book is far better because of the faithful involvement of Bonnie Bentz, Don Brown, Wade Brown, Brian Cawley, Gary Coy, Josh Ellis, Geoff Henderson, Jessie Raedel, and Brian Roland. Each one of them deeply loves God’s unfinished church and desires that others love it deeply too.

It has been an honor and a privilege to work with an exceptional team of professionals at Crossway. I am especially grateful for Dave DeWit, Amy Kruis, Keane Fine, and Thom Notaro, who have all added their expertise to this project.

The words of encouragement, prayers, and regular inquiries of my fellow pastors, colleagues, ministry partners, and friends at Woodmen Valley Chapel have spurred me on.

Vicki Ceass and the team at SonScape Retreats, the Straubs, and the Rolands offered me the tremendous gift of hospitality during my writing process. Thank you.

Two people were instrumental in this book even getting started: my agent and friend, Tim Beals of Credo Communications, who saw something in me, believed in me, and gave me the nudge I needed to take on my first book project; and my friend Cindy Limbrick of Awakening Artists, who often spoke words of life to me—from the moment that God gave me the image of the unfinished church as a book until the book was actually written. God used you both to make this work a reality.

Steve Brown and the faculty at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, gave me a great biblical, theological, and practical foundation for life in ministry.

Our Bermuda friends the Johnsons, the Wests, the Groenings, and the Franks helped us figure out life on the island, experience Christ-centered community, and truly enjoy our stay.

My friend Dave Branon mentored me as a young writer for more than ten years. Your professional skill and personal wisdom have been a blessing.

Friends Dave, Rich, Paul, John, and Todd spoke words of truth to me in the early days of my faith journey. Thank you for your boldness and your consistency.

And lastly, I’m thankful for my parents, Reshard and Cheryl Bentz, who gave me a deep respect for the church and a foundation of faith. I love you.

Introduction

In the fall of 2000, my wife, Bonnie, and I moved from Michigan to Bermuda. We weren’t exactly sure why God was calling us to this Nike-swoosh-shaped island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. But he was. God had woven together a strange tapestry of opportunities, unique circumstances, and relationships that simply could not have been arranged by human ingenuity. For the next fifteen months, we pursued God through his Word, through times of solitude and silence, and through the counsel of friends—striving to figure out just what his purpose might be for a young couple in such a remote location.

Once we unpacked our boxes, figured out the island’s bus routes, and got accustomed to the sound of tree toads, we made a tiny cottage on Bermuda’s South Shore our home. That’s when we went to work pursuing God’s direction for his newest islanders. We prayed. We engaged with a local church. We established relationships with other Christ followers. We served the Bermudian people in civic activities. We invested ourselves in the day-to-day lives of others. We asked God to use us any way he wanted.

And that’s exactly what he did.

Our stay on the tiny island was nothing short of amazing! God did powerful things in us—stretching our faith, causing us to be more dependent upon him, and giving us the courage to reach out for help from the Christian community.

He also did his work through us. He used us to help others truly experience Christ-centered community and to encourage others to engage in a deeper level of intimacy in worship. Yet our time was not all Bermuda shorts and pink-sand beaches. We experienced many relational challenges, more than a few personal doubts, and many fears. Quite simply, the months we called Bermuda our home were the best of times and the worst of times.

When we said our good-byes, gave our island friends our final hugs, wiped the tears from our eyes, and boarded the plane back to the States, we had a deep sense that God had changed us. And he used us to change others. Yet we were just beginning to get a glimpse of why God had plopped us in the middle of the Atlantic for nearly a year and a half. We hadn’t built an orphanage. We hadn’t planted a new church. We hadn’t led hundreds of people to Christ. Yet a few specific images from Bermuda will forever be etched in our minds—the faces of friends, the beauty of God’s creation, and a building. That’s right, a building.

On the northeast tip of the island of Bermuda stands a massive nineteenth-century Gothic structure that is both beautiful and haunting. The walls stand tall and strong. But there is no ceiling. The columns are in place. But there are no windows. It’s a ruin known to Bermudians as the Unfinished Church.

Construction on this historic landmark began in 1870, but parish infighting, financial difficulties, and a major tropical storm halted its progress.

Construction was never completed.

As long as we lived on the island of Bermuda, I was drawn to this structure. Its bizarre past. Its timeless strength. Its glaring weakness. Its imposing majesty. And its future.

One of Bermuda’s most recognizable historical sites had a magnetic pull on me. I didn’t know why. I enjoyed simply walking around the aging grey structure. I listened as the breeze whistled through its openness. I was drawn in by the unique angular shadows that were created by light pouring through places where there should be no light. I often took photos of the Unfinished Church under a bright Bermuda sun—or as a dark, foreboding cloud hovered above.

I loved to imagine what might have taken place within these walls had it ever been finished.

This structure caused me to consider questions that didn’t seem to have easy answers. How could this have happened? Why was it never finished? What could God’s people have done differently? What does it say about God’s people? What does it say about God? This impressive though disturbing structure stirred something within me. Yet I couldn’t quite put it into words.

Until now.

I’ve come to see that Bermuda’s Unfinished Church serves as a brilliant metaphor for a similar building project that God is working on today—his church.

His church is a beautiful historic structure and a vivid picture of brokenness.His church has a long and often sordid past.His church has shown great strength—in spite of its obvious and glaring weaknesses.His church is covered by the majesty of Christ.His church has a bright future, because Jesus is building his church!

To live within—and to love—God’s church, requires an experience with God and his amazing grace. It also requires a solid biblical understanding of the church. It calls those within the church to make the intentional decision to forgive and love people who are often less than loveable. It demands faithfulness and commitment to God and to his people.

The Christian life isn’t meant to be lived with a beat-up Gibson guitar tossed over your shoulder, and with a tattered leather-bound Bible in one hand and a Clif Bar in the other as you rest on a mountaintop somewhere in the Rockies. Christ’s followers, made in God’s image, are created for community with each other.

Rich, authentic, life-enriching, heart-shaping relationships are formed and nurtured within the community of faith—not outside of it. The encouragement and challenge for those who are disgruntled, frustrated, bewildered, or just plain ticked off at what’s happening within God’s church today is to stick around and do something about your frustration. Love God more deeply by loving his people more graciously.

Few things are as difficult! God’s church is a gathering of broken people who do messy things. Yet the church is the beloved bride of our Lord Jesus. It’s something that has captured his heart. While that’s certainly enough of a reason to treat the church with heightened reverence, there are plenty of biblical exhortations to love Christ’s followers with the same heartfelt passion that Jesus does. This alone makes God’s church something we must not turn our collective backs on.

Bookstore shelves are filled with new titles telling the church what it ought to be and what it ought to be about: intentional discipleship, cultural engagement, missional living, and so on. Great ideas, but few address the biggest issue facing the church in our day—that few believers truly understand the significance of God’s church, what God is doing in and through his people, and his long-term plan for the church.

That’s a problem.