How Do We Lay the Foundation?

David concludes this series by looking at the practicalities of how we lay the foundation.   
  FOUNDATIONAL APOSTOLIC MINISTRY TODAY  |  Session 6 -  How Do We Lay the Foundation?  
1/ How do we lay the foundation?
    • Teaching systematically at the beginning to one church and then training others to teach the same thing.   2 Tim 2:2 – and/or in church planting gather initial team(s) to ensure they understand all are able to lay it. 
    • Guarding each of these truths jealously – and appeal to the foundation when dealing with difficult issues.  Paul did that but he also established such a relational contact with them and would deal with issues if they were receiving teaching that was contrary to the foundation as in Galatia, or threatened the foundation as in Corinth.  Notice however, when dealing with the problems in Corinth – even though they were very serious – he referred to the foundation that he had laid and in the main let them work out what it meant in practice.
    • Be clear that grace and the Holy Spirit will produce fruit.
    • Ensure that the doctrines in the foundation become teachings that are regularly taught in the church. 
    • Always let the narrative foundation undergird your preaching even when you are not teaching on foundations – telling the story and demonstrating how it fits into the overall story of Scripture.
    • Teach people about long term endurance not just short term blessing.
    • Apostolic ministry needs to keep to the main thing – the story of God as revealed in Scripture and not get preoccupied with “special revelations” or “obscure Scriptures”. 
    • It means you don’t have an “easy believism” gospel.
    • Create an atmosphere and expectation of discipleship and faith. 
    • The foundation must also be contextualised and must not only be expressed in a way which is meaningful in different cultures (e.g. the term ‘family’ that I’ve used means different things in different cultures) but also must address the strongholds in the various cultures, e.g.:
      • In Western cultures it must challenge materialism, consumerism, celebrity culture, individualism and relativism.
 
2/ Law/Guilt, Honour/Shame, Security/Anxiety Cultures
    • Society/cultures in terms of understanding “right and wrong”, or better, what is “acceptable or unacceptable” are often distinguished between those that are “guilt” based or “shame” based. 
    • Actually there are probably three factors that bring controls in human personality in every culture – Anxiety, Shame and Guilt.  Some cultures are more geared towards anxiety, some more towards shame, some more towards guilt. 
      • Anxiety often in animistic cultures, eg African – here I offend against the eg ancestors or an “almost fanatical faith in the magic of certain symbols… thus especially conducive to states of morbid fear and anxiety” – comment by a Nigerian psychiatrist.  This is seen in Folk Islam as well.
      • Shame – fear of the anger of others at any misbehaviour, disapproval of parents (or society at large) more important than the actual performance of a deed.  Loss of “face” to be feared.
    • Law/guilt seen in Western societies can lead to concepts of “right/wrong” “my rights” and individualist approach to life and the gospel.
    • Anxiety, shame and guilt are all seen in the story of the fall of man in the garden – Gen 3:6-13.  Notice anxiety – they hid, shame – they were naked, guilt – they blamed shifted.  I am told that there are over 150 references in the Old Testament to shame and its derivative words eg Jer 3:24-25, Hos 4:6-7.  Shamelessness is considered bad in Scripture eg ‘”They do not know how to blush” – Jer 6:15.  Jesus scorned the shame of the cross – Heb 12:2.  The cross was shameful, a curse – Gal 3:13.
    • “Grace offers the support that allows trust to replace anxiety, acceptance to restore honour where we were shamed and forgiveness to resolve guilt. … This unconditional love called grace is a gift, gratuitous, unmerited, an acceptance that cannot be earned or achieved.  Whether ones theology views grace as ‘the appraisal of humans as worthful’ or ‘the bestowal of worth on humans’, the grace is unmerited and the worth unearned.  Whether ones theology has stressed the anxiety – punishment – release motif of grace, or the shame – alienation – reconciliation model, or the guilt – condemnation – forgiveness pattern, grace offers acceptance, inclusion, forgiveness as gift.” – David W Augsburger in ‘Pastoral Counselling Across Cultures”.
    • In the cross Jesus bore the guilt of our sins, the shame of the offence against God and one another and the power of Satan was broken this setting us free from all fear and anxiety  - “and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death”.  Heb 2:15.  We need to preach grace in all these contexts.
    • Post modern/millennials etc – now grace needs to be applied to a new form of culture – might call it identity/shame (explain).
    © David Devenish How Do We Lay the Foundation? - Foundational Apostolic Ministry Today - Broadcast - July 2021
 

David concludes this series by looking at the practicalities of how we lay the foundation.   

 

FOUNDATIONAL APOSTOLIC MINISTRY TODAY  |  Session 6 -  How Do We Lay the Foundation?

 

1/ How do we lay the foundation?

    • Teaching systematically at the beginning to one church and then training others to teach the same thing.   2 Tim 2:2 – and/or in church planting gather initial team(s) to ensure they understand all are able to lay it. 
    • Guarding each of these truths jealously – and appeal to the foundation when dealing with difficult issues.  Paul did that but he also established such a relational contact with them and would deal with issues if they were receiving teaching that was contrary to the foundation as in Galatia, or threatened the foundation as in Corinth.  Notice however, when dealing with the problems in Corinth – even though they were very serious – he referred to the foundation that he had laid and in the main let them work out what it meant in practice.
    • Be clear that grace and the Holy Spirit will produce fruit.
    • Ensure that the doctrines in the foundation become teachings that are regularly taught in the church. 
    • Always let the narrative foundation undergird your preaching even when you are not teaching on foundations – telling the story and demonstrating how it fits into the overall story of Scripture.
    • Teach people about long term endurance not just short term blessing.
    • Apostolic ministry needs to keep to the main thing – the story of God as revealed in Scripture and not get preoccupied with “special revelations” or “obscure Scriptures”. 
    • It means you don’t have an “easy believism” gospel.
    • Create an atmosphere and expectation of discipleship and faith. 
    • The foundation must also be contextualised and must not only be expressed in a way which is meaningful in different cultures (e.g. the term ‘family’ that I’ve used means different things in different cultures) but also must address the strongholds in the various cultures, e.g.:
      • In Western cultures it must challenge materialism, consumerism, celebrity culture, individualism and relativism.

 

2/ Law/Guilt, Honour/Shame, Security/Anxiety Cultures

    • Society/cultures in terms of understanding “right and wrong”, or better, what is “acceptable or unacceptable” are often distinguished between those that are “guilt” based or “shame” based. 
    • Actually there are probably three factors that bring controls in human personality in every culture – Anxiety, Shame and Guilt.  Some cultures are more geared towards anxiety, some more towards shame, some more towards guilt. 
      • Anxiety often in animistic cultures, eg African – here I offend against the eg ancestors or an “almost fanatical faith in the magic of certain symbols… thus especially conducive to states of morbid fear and anxiety” – comment by a Nigerian psychiatrist.  This is seen in Folk Islam as well.
      • Shame – fear of the anger of others at any misbehaviour, disapproval of parents (or society at large) more important than the actual performance of a deed.  Loss of “face” to be feared.
    • Law/guilt seen in Western societies can lead to concepts of “right/wrong” “my rights” and individualist approach to life and the gospel.
    • Anxiety, shame and guilt are all seen in the story of the fall of man in the garden – Gen 3:6-13.  Notice anxiety – they hid, shame – they were naked, guilt – they blamed shifted.  I am told that there are over 150 references in the Old Testament to shame and its derivative words eg Jer 3:24-25, Hos 4:6-7.  Shamelessness is considered bad in Scripture eg ‘”They do not know how to blush” – Jer 6:15.  Jesus scorned the shame of the cross – Heb 12:2.  The cross was shameful, a curse – Gal 3:13.
    • “Grace offers the support that allows trust to replace anxiety, acceptance to restore honour where we were shamed and forgiveness to resolve guilt. … This unconditional love called grace is a gift, gratuitous, unmerited, an acceptance that cannot be earned or achieved.  Whether ones theology views grace as ‘the appraisal of humans as worthful’ or ‘the bestowal of worth on humans’, the grace is unmerited and the worth unearned.  Whether ones theology has stressed the anxiety – punishment – release motif of grace, or the shame – alienation – reconciliation model, or the guilt – condemnation – forgiveness pattern, grace offers acceptance, inclusion, forgiveness as gift.” – David W Augsburger in ‘Pastoral Counselling Across Cultures”.
    • In the cross Jesus bore the guilt of our sins, the shame of the offence against God and one another and the power of Satan was broken this setting us free from all fear and anxiety  - “and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death”.  Heb 2:15.  We need to preach grace in all these contexts.
    • Post modern/millennials etc – now grace needs to be applied to a new form of culture – might call it identity/shame (explain).

 

 

© David Devenish

How Do We Lay the Foundation? - Foundational Apostolic Ministry Today - Broadcast - July 2021

 

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