Contra Mundum

 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father, but is of the world. The world and its desires are passing away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (rf. I Jn. 2:15-17MEV)

 

 

Contra Mundum. This is a Latin phrase that means, “against the world”. It has all kinds of applications, especially for the Christian. As stated above, we are commanded by Scripture, “do not love the world, nor the things of the world” because the world system, the culture, operates contrary to the ways of God. Yet, the Christian church has often chosen to follow the same path as the unbelieving world to God’s dismay. This idea of contra mundum was so prevalent with the Apostles and the early Church that they saw themselves as being outsiders looking in at the culture around them, never fitting in nor ever having a desire to do so. They understood they would be outcasts to their pagan culture (rf. I Jn. 3:13). The Apostles encouraged fellow brethren never to follow the world because it would only lead them away from God (rf. Jas. 4:4). Think of how much stronger our witness would be if we applied this truth today!

For example, God uses the small and insignificant to accomplish His great work. How many times in Scripture is this truth played out in real time? He starts out with only two people, a man and a woman, and populates a planet (rf. Gen. 1:27-28). He chooses one reluctant man from one of the smallest tribes in Israel to lead only 300 soldiers to defeat an overwhelming Midianite army (rf. Judg. 7). God’s Messiah is prophesied to be born in one of the smallest villages in Judah, Bethlehem, a seemingly insignificant dot on the map, though in times past it was known as “the city of David” as it was the birthplace of Israel’s greatest king (rf. Mic. 5:2). Jesus Himself said that if any of His followers possessed faith the size of the smallest of the seeds of that region’s plants, the mustard tree, they could “move mountains” (rf. Mt. 17:20).

Modern Christians have largely neglected this truth. We have forgotten that God Himself established “the day of small things” (rf. Zech. 4:10). We have become thoroughly and totally consumed in the American success model of “bigger is better”. In our pursuit of greater things, jobs, experiences, we overlook that God is not always in stimulating encounters or things that grab our attention. Rather, He is found in the “still small voice” and “not in the wind” nor “in the earthquake” nor “in the fire” (rf. I Kings 19:11-12). God in all of His splendor and majesty should be all the magnificence we should ever require. If we truly trust and believe in Him, He will operate on our behalf in ways that will undoubtedly blow our minds.

So, the challenge is before us. God calls us as followers of Christ to live consistently in complete faith and trust in Him in all things. We are to look for His hands and will in the “small things” of life. In our jobs, work and play, we are to show that Jesus is preeminent, first and foremost, in our priorities. If we do and are obedient to His teachings, we will most assuredly be portraying ourselves as He desires, contra mundum, “against the world”. 

Doing the Work of Christ

“Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes in Me will do the works that I do also. And he will do greater works than these, because I am going to My Father.” (rf. Jn. 14:12 MEV)

 

            Years ago, a movement swept through the Christian community via a very effective marketing strategy using four simple capital letters, WWJD. Of course, those familiar with the movement remember the acronym stood for “What Would Jesus Do?”. It challenged us to ask ourselves what Jesus’ response would be in every given situation. It seemed at the time to be an effective way of keeping us on the right track as based on the classic work by Charles M. Sheldon, entitled In His Steps.

            A few years later, a subsequent book was released from author, Dr. Richard Spillman, calling Christians to Do What Jesus Did (DWJD). Many Christians “talk a good talk”, as the saying goes, even having the best of motivations in what we would like to do or see done. Yet, when it comes to actually doing the work of Christ, that is, making disciples, ministering to the sick and needy, spending time with the outcasts, feeding the poor, binding up the broken-hearted, we fail miserably as we focus our time and energies on things that benefit ourselves. This is highly convicting, especially for theological conservatives. We place high value on the Scriptures and, yet, when it comes to “social justice”, helping the poor, downtrodden, and hurting in society, Christian conservatives can often be seen as more interested in constructing churches and “saving souls” than in restoring lives. We criticize others for being “politically correct” when, in fact, we can easily find ourselves striving for theological correctness rather than being Biblically obedient.

            When Jesus said to “follow Me” (rf. Mt. 4:19; Mk. 1:17; 10:21), He wanted Christians to use His example of knowing truth and displaying love as our standard; this is a both/and, not an either/or concept. Jesus wanted His disciples to be doctrinally sound and socially just in all their dealings people, speaking truth as well as showing love and compassion. After all, the love of Christ was central to everything that Jesus did. He even charged Peter to do the same with the flock under his care after Jesus had departed (rf. Jn. 21:15-17).

            This “follow Me” principle is not time-bound. The key is our willingness to accept the challenge and fulfill our role as His disciples. How we complete our task and the faithfulness with which we execute it will be the measuring stick He uses to judge how well we have served Him when we at last stand before Him (rf. Mt. 24:45-46).

            May this be your call of encouragement to “Do What Jesus Did”, to review what it means to be a servant and disciple of Jesus and how we can by His Spirit be vessels of truth and love to a world that desperately needs both.

A History Lesson on St. John's Reformed Church, Kannapolis NC

 “…the just shall live by his faith.”

(rf. Hab. 2:4 MEV)

 

The above passage was the launching pad for the Reformation period of Church history. Based on this truth and the desire to return to the Scriptures as the foundation of all faith and life, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.  Shortly thereafter, John Calvin was compelled to begin his work of writing a doctrinal and practical application of the Christian faith. His Institutes of the Christian Religion would become the theological textbook of the Reformation. Calvin and Luther communicated with one another on several occasions to try and coalesce the beliefs of this new movement of renewal within Christ’s Church. The results of their efforts would later become the denominations of Lutheranism and Presbyterianism, reflecting their shared beliefs and heritage within the Reformed faith.

 

The German Reformed Church in many ways is a marriage of the worship style of Lutheranism, the doctrinal standards of Calvinism, and the church government as taught within Presbyterianism. When the Evangelical Synod of North America (of German heritage) merged with the Reformed Church in the United States (German) in 1934, the new Evangelical and Reformed Church carried on the Reformed faith (Calvinism as expressed in the Heidelberg Catechism, the statement of faith for the E&R) even as its governmental structure was Presbyterian in origin.

 

St. John’s was born in 1919 as a church plant in Kannapolis for the Reformed Church in the United States (i.e. the German Reformed Church). It became an E&R church with the 1934 merger of the bodies outlined above. In 1957, St. John’s was ushered into the United Church of Christ (UCC) along with every other E&R church, thus bringing an end to the German Reformed or E&R church denominations in America. Though there are still in existence the Reformed Church in America (RCA-liberal) and the Alliance of Reformed Churches (ARC-conservative), these are Dutch Reformed churches, not German, representing a different branch of the Reformed faith altogether. The original group (German Reformed/E&R) that brought our church into being no longer exists.

 

Going forward, our Church Council firmly believes that the Lord wants us to be a part of a larger body, one that closely aligns with our heritage, beliefs and practices. This is the very reason that the Council has promoted and continues to promote our joining with the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO). Like St. John’s, the ECO is Reformed in their faith and governs itself according to Presbyterian principles. Entering this relationship with the ECO would not diminish our heritage nor change our identity as a Reformed church. In fact, connecting with ECO would enable us to grow stronger in the Reformed faith that we have in common. We would continue to serve the Lord as St. John’s Reformed Church (no change to name or in our owning our own property), only with a greater body behind us to support us and with whom we could work to reach our community with the Gospel of Christ.

 

Our Church Council has worked long and hard in its effort to search for a suitable body to join, secure the good will of contacts within that organization, and to educate our church family in the benefits and blessings of such a new relationship. Our church family can rest assured that the heart, motivation and actions of our church leadership are worthy of our trust and faith. Our Council desires nothing more than to follow the Lord’s direction so that the future of St. John’s will be secure.

 

Their encouragement to us all is that we (1) pray for the Lord to empower us to move positively toward the future He has in store for St. John’s, (2) freely share our concerns, questions, insights and encouragement with them so that the Council has opportunity to answer those questions and allay any fears and doubts that remain, and, (3) commit to be in attendance during worship and, especially, when informational meetings are provided so everyone can be on the same page and a part of what God has for our future as a church. The Lord has promised “a future and a hope”; let us move together as a church family to embrace it with joy and faith.