DATE: 3-23-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And — if this happens to be your first time worshiping with us — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our mini-series in Romans this weekend — taking a look at the spiritual gifts that Paul mentions in his letter. And we’re taking time to explore spiritual gifts so we all understand what these gifts are and how they’re beneficial to our faith family. Now the purpose of the spiritual gifts is something I have and will continue to remind us of: Spiritual gifts are abilities given to individual believers by the Holy Spirit in order to equip God’s people for ministry, both for the edification of the church and for God’s salvific (or saving) mission to the world. – Lexham Survey of Theology

Here’s what Paul says about the gifts — in Romans chapter twelve — beginning in verse four.

Romans 12:4–8 ESV

4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

We took two weeks to explore the gift of prophecy and — last week — we looked at the gift of service. Which means that — today — we’ll look at the spiritual gift of teaching, which Paul mentions in verse seven when he writes…

Romans 12:7 ESV

7b the one who teaches, in his teaching;

WHAT IS THE GIFT OF TEACHING?

So let’s begin by answering the question, “What is the gift of teaching?” Here’s the definition that I shared with you a few weeks ago.

Teaching

The gift of teaching is the divine strength or ability to study and learn from the Scriptures primarily to bring understanding and depth to other Christians.

When we looked at the gift of prophecy I mentioned how some Christians say that prophecy and teaching are essentially the same gift — and I explained why I think this is a misinformed view of the two gifts. For prophecy is a spontaneous word brought to mind — whereas teaching includes studying the Bible so that it can be explained to others.

And — similar to other gifts we’ve looked at — teaching is something that — one — all Christians are to do — two — is associated with a leadership position — or office — in the church — and three — is a spiritual gift given to some in the church who will see greater results in their teaching.

Let’s look at how teaching is something that all Christians are to do. In some of his final words, Jesus said…

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

If you’re newer to Gateway, this is where our mission statement comes from as a church. Gateway Church exists “to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ.” And this is why — to help you grow as a disciple of Jesus — we want you to worship, connect, serve, and go — because Jesus told us to “go and make disciples of all nations.” But notice what he said is part of the disciple-making process: We’re to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — and we’re to teach — there’s our word — teach them to observe all that Jesus commanded.

This is called the Great Commission and — in many ways — this is the life purpose of every single follower of Jesus — not just collectively as the church — but individually as well. Which means we all have a responsibility to teach others what it means to follow Jesus. For example, Paul writes…

Titus 2:3–5 NLT

3 Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. 4 These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, 5 to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

Older women are to teach younger women what is good — how to love their husbands and children, how to live wisely and in purity, and so on. I’m so thankful for women like Sherry Shultis and Annette Peverly who take verses like these seriously and lead Bible studies for women in our church. 

But this teaching — that all Christians are to do — is also to take place in our homes — as husbands and wives teach each other to be more faithful followers of Jesus — or as we raise our children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord — a command given to all Christian parents. This can happen in informal moments — like meeting up for coffee with a friend to talk about life with Jesus over the past week. Or in more formal settings — like a scheduled Bible study at work. Regardless if we have the spiritual gift of teaching — we’re all commanded to teach others God’s Word.

Now — let’s look at the office — or leadership position — that’s associated with the gift.

A passage we’ve looked at frequently during this mini-series on spiritual gifts — is found in Ephesians where Paul writes…

Ephesians 4:11–12 NLT

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

Biblical scholars debate whether or not four or five offices are being described here. The debate being whether or not pastors and teachers are two separate offices or one — that of pastor/teacher. The disagreement has to do with the original language — which we don’t need to get into right now because — regardless — there is an office associated with the teaching.

In another of his letters, Paul writes this about the office of overseer — also known as an elder or pastor.

1 Timothy 3:1–7 ESV

1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

About this list of elder qualifications — Bible scholar D.A. Carson has said that the list is, “Remarkable for being unremarkable.” Meaning the qualifying characteristics for elders are characteristics that should be present in the life of every Christian. In fact — the only characteristic that really sticks out is “able to teach” — though I’d be willing to concede “not being a recent convert” as well — for we don’t want leaders in the church to be new to the faith.

Last week I shared a bunch of ways individuals with the gift of serving are using their spiritual gift for God’s glory and all of our good. This week — I thought I’d share with you how your elders — in recognizing the requirement to be teachers of God’s Word as the elders of this church — do just what we should expect elders to do: to teach.

Two of your elders — Matt Heft and Justin Stiles — regularly teach in Kidway. Think about that: those who hold the highest office of spiritual leadership in our faith family make it a priority to teach some of the youngest people among us. And — not just on Sunday mornings — these two have been Bible teachers during VBS week as well.

You’ll find Kevin Snyder in the Attic teaching students God’s Word — the Attic is where our Middle Schoolers meet. Something that was an encouragement to me happened this past December when a group of elders — Ed Grable, Jim Tomlinson, Matt Buttermore, and Kevin — joined me in traveling two hours to where our Middle and High Schoolers were meeting for their annual youth retreat. Part of the retreat includes breakout sessions — where the students see how God’s Word relates to a variety of different topics. Half of your elders led some of these breakout sessions. The teens of Gateway were being taught God’s Word by the elders of our church.

Scott Sharpe and Terry Joliff taught our baptism class earlier this year. And — finally — unsurprisingly — some of the elders preach God’s Word to you on Sundays when I’m not preaching.

I hope hearing this brings encouragement to you — that your elders take seriously their responsibility to be teachers of God’s Word.

Now — as you’ve heard me say many times — having the spiritual gift of teaching doesn’t mean that one is automatically qualified for the leadership office associated with the gift. Yet — without the gift — someone isn’t qualified to be a pastor or elder in the church. For we see — in Scripture — that to be an elder or pastor — one must be able to teach God’s Word — and do so in a way that equips and builds up others who are part of the local church.

Paul makes this even more clear in his second letter to Timothy, where writes…

2 Timothy 2:2 NLT

2 You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

Paul tells Timothy that he not only has the responsibility to obey what Paul has taught — and not only must he teach what Paul has taught — Timothy is to teach others who will teach what Paul has taught. 

He tells Titus something similar when he writes…

Titus 1:5–11 NLT

5 I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you. 6 An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. 7 A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. 8 Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. 9 He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong. 10 For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation. 11 They must be silenced, because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching. And they do it only for money.

Paul tells both Timothy and Titus that they’re responsible for raising up the next generation of elders who will be teachers in the church. They’re to be trustworthy, blameless, faithful, not arrogant or quick-tempered, hospitable and so on. And — specific to the gift we’re looking at — elders must have a strong belief in what he’s been taught and are to encourage others with wholesome teaching as they show others — who oppose wholesome teaching and sound doctrine — where they’re wrong.

One final comment about this gift: This is a gift that one can grow in. Meaning — even though this is a spiritual gift — progress can be made in how good of a teacher you are. And I think this idea — of being able to grow in a spiritual gift — isn’t something that only applies to the gift of teaching — but is a principle that can be applied to all of the spiritual gifts. You’ve heard me say this before, but the sermons I preach today are way better than the first sermons I preached. Not because I didn’t have the spiritual gift of teaching back then — but because I’ve become a better teacher having preached for nearly twenty years.

Now — I’m thankful that we can bring in guest preachers who have years of preaching under their belts and thousands of sermons in their rearview mirrors — but — if we want to be a church that raises up the next generation of pastors — we must be willing to hear someone’s first sermon. And their second. And third. I tell folks you don’t really know if you’re called to preach until you’ve preached fifty sermons. Why fifty? Because by then either the study and preparation it takes to preach will be something you love or will be a burdensome chore. And those for which it’s a chore are not those who’ve been gifted and called.

So — thank you in advance — for being a church that’s so Kingdom-minded — that you’re willing to sit through some sermons of the next generation of pastors that aren’t as good as John Piper or Matt Chandler or pick your favorite preacher — and even more so — thank you for encouraging those who are — in a very public way — wanting to grow in their gift so that the church of tomorrow will be blessed with pastors and teachers who are able to pass on the truths of our Christian faith to the generation that comes after them.

A FEW WARNINGS

Now — to wrap up this look at the spiritual gift of teaching — I want us to look at a warning in the Bible to those who teach and a few warnings to those who are taught. Some warnings for all of us — teachers or not. 

First, a warning to those who teach. This is from Jesus’ younger brother, James. 

James 3:1–12 NLT

1 Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. 3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. 7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! 11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? 12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.

Those who teach will be judged more strictly — there’s the warning. James goes on to demonstrate how the tongue — meaning our words — are unmatched in all of creation in a very bad way. James says that freshwater springs produce freshwater — just like they’re supposed to. Fig trees produce figs — grape vines produce grapes. And then there’s our tongues — our mouths — our words — which God created to speak words of praise to him. Yet from our mouths come both praise of God and cursing of people made in his image. And — like a small spark that sets a forest ablaze — our words can set our world on fire. And — according to James — this metaphorical fire is straight from hell.

So — those of us who teach — are going to be judged by God more strictly. We’ll be held accountable for every word that comes out of our mouth. A warning to those who preach and to Kidway Life Group leaders. A warning for our elders and those who teach our youth. A warning to all who teach in the church.

Jesus said something similar when he said…

Matthew 12:35–37 ESV

35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The words we speak — for good or for evil — reveal the condition of our heart — what it loves most. And — to be clear — Jesus is speaking about all of us. Yes, teachers will be judged more strictly — but all of us will be judged because we’re all called to teach others in a general sense. Thus, the goal for every Christian should be an increased love for God in their heart so that what pours out of their mouths is God-honoring words — because this is why our mouths were created.

What kinds of words come out of your mouth? Words that honor God or words that you’ll be judged for? Words that make you a hypocrite or words that demonstrate that Jesus is your joy and greatest delight? Back in January — when Matt Heft — one of our elders — preached — he had a sponge up on stage and used it to illustrate that whatever we soak in will eventually get squeezed out of us. In response to the point Matt made, I added this to my list of life resolutions.

Pursue Christ in such a way that when life squeezes me (either by God’s hand or the world’s), godliness is what comes out of me.

Many things may come out of me when life squeezes me — including physical and emotional responses — but what definitely comes out are words. 

When life squeezes you — frustrates you — when everything seems to be against you — what words do you speak? No excuses, Jesus says. Either they honor him or they’re words from hell.

Now — some warnings to us who are taught — for we’re all taught by others. The apostle Peter writes this.

2 Peter 2:1–3 ESV

1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Just as false prophets rose up among the people in the Old Testament — Peters says that in our day false teachers will rise up among us. First, I find it interesting that Peter doesn’t compare false prophets with false prophets. Instead it’s false prophets then — with false teachers now. Though false prophets can and do exist today — the greater danger for God’s people are false teachers. Those who secretly bring in heresies that destroy those who believe them — false teachings that lead people away from Christ. These false teachers will exploit others even as they teach them exactly what they want to hear. Yet God is not blind or sitting idly by — their destruction is coming.

About these false teachers — a few verses later — Peter writes…

2 Peter 2:9–10 NLT

9 So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. 10 He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority. These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling.

False teachers have some common identifiers that — if we’re watchful — we’ll notice and not be duped by their false teaching. They’ll be twisted in their sexual desire — meaning they’ll go against God’s clear teaching on sexuality in his Word. They’ll despise authority. They’ll be proud and arrogant and so on. 

Now — to be sure — just because someone is proud doesn’t mean they’re a false teacher — they may just need to repent — but false teachers refuse to repent when called out for their sin. They’ll justify, make excuses, not admit to having made a mistake, and will scoff and despise those in authority. Thus those who are taught by others must be watchful and careful as to who we let teach us.

Peter continues his warning about false teachers with…

2 Peter 2:17–22 NLT

17 These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. 18 They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. 19 They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. 20 And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. 21 It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. 22 They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”

One of the most dangerous things about false teachers is how deceptive they are. Even when they’ve clearly been revealed to be nothing more than speakers of hot air and false teaching — they’ll still lure people into believing their lies and deception. They’ll promise freedom — they’ll point to true Christianity and call it slavery — or lifeless — or say that only they have the secrets to spiritual power or insights into the Bible that no one else has discovered — and will enslave all who believe their teaching. Peter even warns that some who believe the gospel will be led astray by such teachers. So be watchful — know God’s Word — don’t get complacent — for false teachers write books, are on YouTube, and have many followers on social media.

And — finally — about these false teachers Peter writes…

2 Peter 3:15–18 NLT

15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction. 17 You already know these things, dear friends. So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. 18 Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.

What a hopeful reminder — God is patient with us. He’s giving us — and others — time to be saved, to repent, to be corrected, and so on. But the warning is that false teachers will use God’s Word to spread their false teaching. Though there are false teachers who don’t claim to be followers of Jesus — the greater danger are the false teachers who twist God’s Word to say things it doesn’t. Peter says false teachers did it with Paul’s writings in his day — and false teachers continue to do so in our day.

This is why we must be discerning and so know God’s Word that we can spot when it’s being twisted by false teachers. “Well how will I know if someone’s a false teacher or someone who simply made a mistake in what they taught?” Repentance. Even the best of us with the spiritual gift of teaching are not perfect. Thus, when we teach something not true or inaccurate — we will repent. We’ll respond to those who disagree with us with humility — just as — with humility — we should approach those when we think they’ve made a mistake in their teaching.

But false teachers will not repent — for they do no wrong — at least that’s what they think. That’s why repentance is key in recognizing if someone simply made a mistake or is intentionally trying to lead others on a path of destruction.

CONCLUSION

I want to leave you with a final word Paul wrote to Timothy. Timothy was a young man pastoring the church in Ephesus. He was mentored by Paul — he’s one of the faithful men Paul had handed off the truths of our faith to. This is what he told Timothy.

2 Timothy 3:14–4:5 NLT

14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. 15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 1 I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: 2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. 3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths. 5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

Gateway, may we always remain faithful to the things we’ve been taught. And though our ears may itch from time to time — may we so long for sound and wholesome teaching that we recognize false teaching when we hear it. And may we remain committed to teaching others the Good News — the gospel of Jesus Christ — as we carry out the ministry and mission that God’s given us. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Gracious Father, thank you for those you’ve called to be teachers of your people. For through them — and the Spirit’s work in them — we better understand who you are, who we are, what Jesus has accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection, and the hope we have because of our faith in him.

Spirit, Thank you for those you’ve already called, equipped, and empowered with the gift of teaching. We ask you to empower more among us who are spiritually gifted to teach our children. To teach our teens. To teach our men. To teach our women. To teach our teachers. 

And — Jesus — our desire is to obey the mission that you gave to your church. To go and make disciples of all nations — baptizing and teaching them. This is our purpose. This is why we exist. Not just as a church — but as individual followers of you. Help us to confidently step into this calling to which you’ve called us. And we pray all of this in your name. Amen.

When the gospel is preached, I should rejoice regardless of who is the messenger. Paul is clear in his other letters that there are false gospels. So we’re not to blindly rejoice at all so-called gospel preaching. But we’re not to be so snobby that true gospel preaching, that’s not our ‘style’, isn’t something to rejoice over.

God, help me to rejoice every time I hear your gospel message faithfully preached. Amen.

Date: August 29, 2019

Questions

How do you determine what the sermon subjects will be week to week? (5:10)

Does Shaun take music requests? We would love to sing along with some Casting Crowns songs. Also special music from one of the band members such as The Revelation song. (6:22)

I’m confused about holding your hand up in praise. I’m confused because Matthew 6:5 says “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” 1 Timothy 2:8 says, “Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.” I find myself self-conscious if I lift my hand in prayer or song because of Matthew 6:5. All focus is to be on the LORD and I’m not to be the hypocrite. BUT I struggle with not giving full praise to the LORD because of 1 Timothy 2:8. There are many areas in the bible that state “lift your hand” to glorify GOD. (14:50)

On top of all the things that churches do, do you think it’s reasonable to ask churches, including ours, to do more in embracing and guiding the seemingly growing use of digital Bibles in church services? Not waiting on the use-of-technology-problems to overtake us, but try to keep up or stay ahead, and hopefully influence it (for our current and upcoming generation)… for example:  1. Continually reminding/encouraging persons to develop a personal protocol when using Bible Apps on phones/tablets in church, like turning off the social media/email alerts while in church and developing that discipline (young and old alike) to resist checking them while in church service…..so it’s no longer just to turn your ringer off. 2. Helping to identify Bible apps that best accommodate highlights and notes that would represent how we did it in our print Bibles. (18:15)

Can we have shalom now? I thought shalom by definition was only in heaven. Also, what word does Paul use for peace in verse 1? I thought he used a Greek word. I thought shalom was a Jewish word from the Old Testament. (22:55)

Are you saying that our suffering is the Holy Spirit making us holy? (25:05)

Doesn’t Satan believe in Jesus? Shouldn’t we do more than just believe that Jesus is real to be saved? What about committing to Jesus. (27:10)

Date: January 16, 2020

Questions

Why wouldn’t we start and finish a book of the Bible in one year? (16:40)

How do you know when something is biblical truth as opposed to interpretation? I grew up Catholic, where the belief is that the bread and wine are truly the body and blood of Christ. I always struggled with that belief and always believed more in communion being done in remembrance of Christ’s dying for us. So I understand that communion is a biblical truth, but is one denomination’s view true or is it up to interpretation? (24:25)

Just curious why in this week’s sermon when you talk about the change in heart, you didn’t continue to talk about the born again experience or actually say born again? (29:00)

Release Date: July 21, 2020

Questions

Should pastors on occasion address (from the pulpit) American social sins? (e.g. racism, abortion, etc…) Why don’t you ever preach on the rapture? (3:25)

I came across this passage in Genesis that’s kind of gotten under my skin. It’s chapter 29:1-8. Jacob is running away from Esau and on his way to Laban’s house, he comes across some shepherds. The shepherds are gathering their flocks by a well that’s covered by a stone. Jacob tells them to water their sheep but they say, “We can’t until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.” But after this Jacob rolls away the stone to water Rachel’s sheep. So, my question is… what does this mean? Is it a shadow of Jesus? Am I reading too much into it? (15:20)

As I was reading through 1 Corinthians 5, I got to thinking about the concept of a little leaven leavening the whole lump. Paul is specifically addressing an issue in the church at Corinth about a sexually immoral person and how they need to be removed from the church. The idea is to purge the evil so that we can avoid the appearance of approving sinful conduct and affect the rest of the church body. What would that look like today? Should we read this as a recommendation from Paul to this specific church? Or should this be a universal practice for churches today assuming that if Paul said it, it’s probably best that we follow it? (19:05)

In Hosea 6:1, the Israelites are ready to return to the Lord.  And in verse 2, it seems like they want everything back to the way it was supposed to be in 2-3 days.  Do you think it’s fair to interpret these verses as the Israelites looking for a quick fix to their problems? (37:35)

Date: 10/7/2020

Release date: 10/13/2020

Lighting Round

1. How do you choose to name or not name a pastor/theologian in your sermons? And why?

2. Does Josh regularly indulge in the viewership of the quality children’s program known as Veggie tales?

Questions

1. I have been hearing various people throughout our church talking about the Enneagram.  We’ve done some surface level reading about it (the Gospel Coalition has a good article describing the history and recommendations on how Christians should approach it). We’d like to hear your thoughts on not only the pros and cons of the Enneagram, but also how we as a church should communicate our relationship with it. We have had a number of conversations with people in and out of the church where it has come up, and given that it has history in some unbiblical sounding things (Islamic mysticism, the occult, etc.) we’d like to make sure we aren’t confused about how our church might be using it. Does it align with and reaffirm God’s Word? If not, should it be used as a tool for discipleship? I believe that we can learn from secular things, but the concern is more of the origins and perception.
   1. TGC articles
      1. I love TGC, but feel like they sometimes feel pressure to put out an article on everything even when they haven’t really done their research.
      2. Kevin DeYoung did a review of one enneagram book (my least favorite of all enneagram books). 
      3. Joe Carter did one of his FAQ posts on the enneagram that linked to some rather strange places (like oceanmoonshine9.wordpress.com, which is titled “the enneagram…info from the underground. An anonymous website that was created in 2005-06).
      4. Both seem to imply that Christians should be cautious with the enneagram as a personality tool because of its origins (we’ll talk about that in a bit) and offer other personality tools that they recommend. But one of those personality tools was created by an Episcopal priest who was married four times. 
      5. The final post on TGC, gives a great reminder, but coats it as a warning: Make sure the Bible doesn’t get replaced with a personality tool. Of course we don’t want to do that. We also don’t want TGC to replace the Bible either.
   2. Enneagram origins
      1. No one really knows for sure. My wife was assigned a paper in her Master’s Counseling program on the enneagram and had to research its origins. And after her research her conclusion was, “While original roots of the enneagram are a bit mysterious…” and then went into all of the different possibilities of where it began. Including what TGC states as the origin.
      2. But the point is that there are lots of theories as to when and where it began. So my caution would be to watch how we read into the origin of it with whatever bias we have towards the enneagram (or whatever bias we’re getting our information from — like TGC).
   3. Receive, Reject, Redeem
      1. Myers-Briggs creator based her personality test on theories by Carl Jung. He’s someone who wrote a book called Answers to Job where he claims that Job is more morally upright than God. And that God will have to incarnate again with man — like Jesus — but this second time instead of being good, this incarnation will be the evil side of God. So that’s some of the influence behind the Myers-Briggs personality test that I’m sure most everyone has taken. Yet we’re so far removed from the origins and have seen its usefulness that we’re not concerned about all of that.
      2. 1 Kings 11:1-13 (King Solomon worshipped other gods and was punished by God for his disobedience; do we reject or even question what he wrote? “But it’s in the Bible…” which means that God can use someone who worshipped false gods to write Scripture, so why can’t God use someone today to write things that will benefit us?)
   4. What is the enneagram?
      1. To keep it simple, it’s a personality profile tool.
      2. What makes it different is how it targets the motivations behind why we act and do the things we do. 
      3. These motivations can be unhealthy (sinful) or healthy (godly).
      4. The tool doesn’t excuse sin, but for many folks it helps them to get past behavior modification to really dig into why they do the things they do.  
   5. Personally
      1. Most helpful personality tool for my wife and I in our marriage.
      2. Other personality tools have us being the same personality. And we always knew there was something different. Myers-Briggs, strengthsfinder, DISC, etc…we were always the same. But with the enneagram, we discovered that we are different!
   6. Staff
      1. We spent a year as a staff using the enneagram as a personality profiling tool.
      2. Becoming more self-aware and understanding how to work with each other better.
   7. Recommended resources
      1. 9 Types of Leadership by Chestnut
      2. The Complete Enneagram by Chestnut
      3. Personality Types by Riso and Hudson
      4. The Path Between Us by Stabile
      5. Self to Lose Self to Find by Vancil
      6. Typology podcast
      7. Leeann and Michelle (youtube)

2. When Acts 13:48 says, “All who were ‘appointed’ (chosen) for eternal life believed,” is that not confirming predestination? Not that anyone knows who was preselected so to speak, if that is so. On another note is that saying once saved always saved?
   1. Confirms predestination? It definitely supports it. 
   2. Once saved always saved.
      1. This is different.
      2. Order of salvation.
      3. Romans 8:29-30
      4. Hebrews 7:25

Date: 09/07/2022

Questions

The book of Hebrews starts by laying out the case that Jesus is better than angels. This teaching would have countered the worship of angels above Jesus, but has it also caused us to downplay the importance of the role angels and the spirit world play in our lives?

1. I think we have a misunderstanding regarding angels, not primarily because of the Hebrews passage, but because we’re just not clear on what the Bible actually teaches about them. 
2. There’s a quote that says, “Christians are so heavenly minded they’re of no earthly good.” The problem is that many of the people who’ve done the most earthly good — establishing hospitals, orphanages, clean water, tackled malnutrition, and so on — have been the most heavenly minded people.
3. Similarly, I don’t think anyone can be so Jesus minded that other parts of our theology and faith are downgraded (like angels). In fact, the more Jesus minded you are the more all of your theology gets elevated. But for those who get wrapped up in secondary theological issues — raising them up as really really important — often their Jesus-mindedness wanes.
4. Now that I’ve said my bit and am off my soapbox, what does Scripture say about angels?
   1. Angels are messengers. Both in the Old and New Testament we see this as their primary role.
      1. In Genesis, angels appear to Abraham to give him the message about what’s going to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah.
      2. In Matthew an angel appears to Joseph telling him to not abandon Mary. In Luke, an angel appears to Mary.
   2. The Angel of the LORD is prominent in the Old Testament. Often this angel has divine-like qualities. Some interpret the Angel of the Lord to be prefigures of Christ before his incarnation.
      1. Example in Genesis 16:7-13 ESV. After Hagar was sent away by Sarah, “The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”” 
   3. Satan and demons are fallen angels.
      1. In Job Satan appears in the heavenly realms with the other angels.
      2. He’s called the “prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians (which is angelic language).
      3. In Revelation 2 and 3 (mentioned next), the seven churches have seven stars and angels. In chapter 12, Satan is said to have swept a third of the stars out of the sky (stars meaning angels that are now demons).
      4. Jude 1:6 — And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.
   4. The seven churches in Revelation all have an angel associated with them. This is descriptive — not prescriptive — so we’d be going too far if we suggest that every local church has an angel associated with it.
   5. We’re not to worship angels. Colossians 2:18; Revelation 1
   6. Regarding guardian angels — there’s not much in Scripture to defend the usual idea of guardian angels.
      1. Hebrews 1:14 — Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
      2. Daniel 12:1 — At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.
      3. Hebrews 13:2 — Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
      4. Matthew 18:10 — “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
      5. Psalm 91:11 — For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. (Satan quotes this verse to Jesus as he tempts him. So we know how this verse is fulfilled — in Christ; not us.)

In Pastor Robert’s sermon on 6/26/22 on 2 Timothy 2:1-19, he said that the word for men in verse 2 indicates both men and women (which I agree with – anthropos in the Greek refers to all humankind), and because of that, both men and women are responsible for spreading the gospel. In light of that, why does Gateway hold the stance that women should not preach from the pulpit? Is that not spreading the gospel, which both men and women are commanded to do per this passage (and many others)?

1. Since the question asker brings up the Greek language, let’s dive in and see how the original language answers their question. 
2. In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul tells Timothy to “entrust to faithful men (and women) who will be able to teach others. The Greek word — translated in English as “teach” — is found 97 times in the New Testament. Never once is it translated as “preach” in English. Only once — in the ESV — is the Greek word not directly translated as “teach/taught/teaching/etc…” and that’s when it’s translated as “directed” in a verse that has nothing to do with preaching. 
3. Additionally, there is another Greek word that we translate as “preach” in English. In fact, in 2 Timothy — the book Pastor Robert preached from — Paul uses this Greek word in the well-known verse “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” (2 Timothy 4:2 ESV) And — notice — that the word “teaching” is in the same verse as a different Greek word translated as preach. And this is the same Greek word translated as teach in chapter 2. So what does this all mean? Well it shows us that Paul means something different between teaching and preaching.
4. I bring all of this up because the questioner’s point seems to be  “If 2 Timothy 2:2 tells us that men and women are to teach…then why don’t we allow women to preach from the pulpit?” Because teaching and preaching are two different ministries in the church. Are they both ways in which the gospel is spread? Absolutely! So the good news is that men and women — who are both responsible for spreading the gospel — can do so in many ways without limiting ourselves to preaching being the only way this is fulfilled. 

How do we reconcile or respond to moral failures or alleged moral failures of a church or church leadership? For instance, the Hillsong Church founders and some of its pastors have been accused of abusing members. But does that mean we should boycott the worship songs of the Hillsong band? An investigation into the SBC found that SBC leaders abused women and children but covered it up. Does that mean we abandon resources published by Lifeway, the publishing arm of the SBC? If we took the boycott approach, we would eventually boycott everything. And it “punishes” these individuals or groups that may have no influence or knowledge of the abusive behavior conducted by others in their organization.

1. On a similar topic, this question came in: Let me preface by saying I just finished the Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast which got me wondering how Gateway protects itself from something similar: a dominant lead pastor that eventually becomes almost like a dictator to the detriment of the church?
   1. In what ways is there oversight and accountability for Pastor Josh?
   2. What is the process for major decisions to be made and who leads those discussions or who has the final say in decision making? (Example: should we go down to 1 service vs 2? Should we be a multi-site church or not?)
   3. When there is disagreement in direction between elders, how does it get resolved? Can you share any examples?
   4. What is the staff’s level of authority vs. elders/deacons?
   5. Who sets the vision for the church and what does that process look like?
   6. One of the big problems with Mars Hill and its leadership seemed to be pride. Could Pastor Josh maybe show some vulnerability and talk about any areas or sin in his life today that he wrestles with? What theological areas are a little gray to him right now that he is working through? Is there any stance or view he had that he has recently changed on? Maybe outside of the sin question, are there personality or character items that he sees area for growth for himself?

2. First, to the second set of questions. I’d encourage anyone listening to go listen to a sermon I preached in our Acts series on August 14, 2022. It’s titled “Team Gateway.” In that sermon I talk about the various roles and responsibilities that elders, staff, deacons, and church members all have. That would cover everything from the vision for Gateway, decision making, and so on. I think it will also help clarify the difference between how Gateway is structured compared to churches like Mars Hill. We have a legitimate plurality of leadership. Meaning, the elders are not my board of directors who hold me accountable in how I lead Gateway. The elders are my co-leaders, co-pastors, co-laborers. In fact, in our denominational language I’m a teaching elder which implies my primary role is to teach and preach God’s Word. Other than Robert — who’s also a teaching elder — the remaining 12 elders are called ruling elders — with their primary responsibility being ruling or leading the church. This is a key distinction between us and churches who view the pastor as the CEO of the church. That’s not our model — which is how Mars Hill was organized.
3. As far as what should we do with people we admire or have learned from — other pastors, authors, so on — who have a moral failure?
   1. First, we should all respond with prayer and repentance. There’s a juicy gossip train we all seem to jump on when there’s another scandal. Websites and blogs are dedicated to the moral failures of others. And this is to our shame. Now the news should be reported, but our first response as God’s people should be prayer and repentance. Prayer because God’s name and reputation has been dishonored once again. Repentance because we often are quick to speak and judge whoever’s made the headline this week — as if we’re not just as susceptible to giving in to sin ourselves.
   2. Second, I would suggest practicing patience. No need to throw out all of their books today. But watch for repentance in their life. Public repentance because public sin requires public repentance. Watch to see if they just jump back into ministry as if nothing ever happened. If that’s the case, throw their books in the trash. You can find better things to read. But if they do repent — which we should be praying for — rejoice and celebrate for this is what our Heavenly Father is doing because of their repentance.
   3. Third, guard your heart and make growth in personal holiness a priority. One of my life resolutions is: “Remember, what this congregation needs from me most is my personal holiness.” That’s what you need from me. But it’s what I need from you. And what we all need from each other.
   4. Finally, make the local church a priority. Make deepening your relationship with others in your local church a priority. Make knowing your elders a priority. We’re often devastated when a pastor we’ve never met has a scandal. Meanwhile, there are faithful pastors in our lives who we make little effort to get to know, to build a relationship with, and to develop a sweet bond of trust with. Back to us having a plurality of leadership. This means that if you think your elders aren’t real elders — or don’t think you’ve been reached out to unless I (Pastor Josh) have called you — then know that your view of church leadership is too narrow. You’re wanting us to operate in an unbiblical way where — Josh don’t act like the CEO or sole pastor of the church when it comes to authority, but do act like the CEO or sole pastor of the church when it comes to care and relationships. And neither are biblical or healthy. Beyond that, I’ve only got so much relational capital. I can’t build intimate relational trust with everyone at Gateway — there’s just too many folks. But — kind of like the seven degrees of Kevin Bacon — if you get in close relationships with others at Gateway — I bet it won’t take very long before you personally know someone who knows me — or knows someone who knows someone who knows me. And then it’s up to you to trust their relationship with me. Their words about me. Their judgment of me. But know that there’s a large gap of trust that can’t be built unless we all take steps to be in relationships with others — to be known by others — to love and be loved by others. I know this can be scary. I know that past betrayals may make us less trusting of others today. But that’s a hurdle that I and the leadership of Gateway will never be able to get over — no matter how genuinely trustworthy we are — without all of us taking steps towards each other in relationship — what the Bible calls fellowship. 

Date: 9/14/2022

Compelling Community 

Chapter 5:

1. A chronic temptation for church leaders is to see a deficit in our churches and then “fix it,” that is, adjust the behavior of our congregation to better reflect Scripture. But while many of our solutions may change behavior in the short-term, they do little to create real, long-lasting change. (Last paragraph on p. 88)
   1. Questions we wrestled with as elders and staff:
      1. Is anyone willing to admit this is their first response to things in life?
      2. Have you seen this approach at Gateway? (share an example…)
      3. How can we as leaders keep focused on long-lasting change?

2. In the first paragraph on p. 90 he talks about how they went about bringing a change to the culture. Then in the third paragraph it says, “It took years, but over time, thousands of conversations about how to apply God’s Word really did change our church culture.”
   1. Is there anything to learn from their approach?
   2. Are there any current situations where we need to keep the long-term mindset and remain patient?

3. This chapter is about preaching, what questions do you (Laura and Shaun) have for me (Josh) about preaching?
   1. Oh boy…this oughta be fun!!!

Chapter 6:

4. On pages 108-113 he talks through “What Should We Pray about Corporately.”
   1. What should Gateway be praying about corporately? (Make a list that the comms team can work into the coms schedule.)
      1. If listeners have any suggestions, please send them in.