What is a Luke 4 Church? Following Jesus' example
From my blog... http://luke4church.com/2009/10/26/what-is-a-luke-4-church-following-jesus-example/
As a recap though, let me go over the premise of what a Luke 4 church is. A Luke 4 church is one that embodies the ministry of Jesus. In Jesus' very first sermon, which recorded in Luke 4:18 & 19, he lays out the mission or vision statement... even the strategy if you will for how he was going to do ministry over the next three years. Over the next 3 1/2 years, Jesus not only proclaimed the Kingdom of God and the Good News that it brings, but he also demonstrated the Kingdom of God as well. You see Jesus went amongst the poor, the oppressed, the possessed, those that were held captive to their sins and he feed them, he clothed them, he healed them, he broke their bondages, stood for justice and ultimately he demonstrated God's grace & love by going to the cross to die for us and our sins.
Ultimately, a Luke 4 church is one that the embodies the Luke 4:18 & 19 and follows the example of Jesus' ministry.
As I continue my discussion of what a Luke 4 Church is, I want to just focus on the first part of Luke 4:18 and talk about what this means for churches today.
In Luke 4:18, it says, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anonited me to preach good news to the poor." Now, over my years of working with the poor, discussing this one piece of the Bible... I have heard many different thoughts on this. Some people & camps have told me that we [churches] are suppose to go to the economically poor first and foremost to share the Gospel with them. While others often time will only focus on the "spiritually" poor. I have spent hours researching this one verse over the years and what I have found out is pretty interesting.
The actual Greek word that Jesus says here is "ptōchos". And the best definition that I have found for this was found in the Enhanced Bible Lexicon and it says:
1 reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms. 2 destitute of wealth, influence, position, honour. 2a lowly, afflicted, destitute of the Christian virtues and eternal riches. 2b helpless, powerless to accomplish an end. 2c poor, needy. 3 lacking in anything. 3a as respects their spirit. 3a1 destitute of wealth of learning and intellectual culture which the schools afford
As you read through this definition, you will see that it does not solely focus on either the economically impoverished. Neither does it solely define the poor as those that are spiritually impoverished.
Jesus was sent [and following Jesus' example & strategy, we are sent as well] to those that are begging for more in life, those that are economically, socially, spiritually, educationally destitute. These are the people that need Jesus the most. Not because they are poor or rich, not because they are part of some caste system. Jesus went to those that needed him the most and he went with the Good News, the message of salvation, the message that God loves them and that he sent His son to die for them. That is the message of hope that Jesus came with.
I have seen too many churches all over, not just in my town, not just ones I have been on staff at... get so wrapped up in "doing ministry" that they have avoided the very people that Jesus loved & was sent to. The very people that you and I once were part of... the poor. Regardless of our socio-economic status... there was a time in our lives when we needed Jesus. We were spiritually impoverished. For some, you may have been economically poor, you may have been emotionally impoverished, you may have begging for more out of life... at some point we have all been there. Whether we knew it or not.
You see, Luke 4 churches that follow Jesus' example GO with the message of hope, the Good News, to those people in our towns & neighborhoods that need Jesus the most. Rich or poor, they need Jesus. You see when we are being Jesus, by showing God's love to those begging for more in life... whether it is economically, socially, spiritually or educationally... then God's love is going to motivate us to do what it is that Jesus would have done. As we are being Jesus, doing what Jesus would do... this will open the doors for us to tell people about Jesus.
A Luke 4 church... follows the example of Jesus by BEING Jesus, DOING what Jesus would do and in turn we are ultimately TELLING people about Jesus through not just proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God... but also demonstrating the Kingdom of God.
My next post will be on the piece that I stole from Ed Stetzer's [http://edstetzer.com] book, "Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community" and Luke 4 churches are post-[insert model name, missional, emerging, evangelical, etc].
As a recap though, let me go over the premise of what a Luke 4 church is. A Luke 4 church is one that embodies the ministry of Jesus. In Jesus' very first sermon, which recorded in Luke 4:18 & 19, he lays out the mission or vision statement... even the strategy if you will for how he was going to do ministry over the next three years. Over the next 3 1/2 years, Jesus not only proclaimed the Kingdom of God and the Good News that it brings, but he also demonstrated the Kingdom of God as well. You see Jesus went amongst the poor, the oppressed, the possessed, those that were held captive to their sins and he feed them, he clothed them, he healed them, he broke their bondages, stood for justice and ultimately he demonstrated God's grace & love by going to the cross to die for us and our sins.
Ultimately, a Luke 4 church is one that the embodies the Luke 4:18 & 19 and follows the example of Jesus' ministry.
As I continue my discussion of what a Luke 4 Church is, I want to just focus on the first part of Luke 4:18 and talk about what this means for churches today.
In Luke 4:18, it says, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anonited me to preach good news to the poor." Now, over my years of working with the poor, discussing this one piece of the Bible... I have heard many different thoughts on this. Some people & camps have told me that we [churches] are suppose to go to the economically poor first and foremost to share the Gospel with them. While others often time will only focus on the "spiritually" poor. I have spent hours researching this one verse over the years and what I have found out is pretty interesting.
The actual Greek word that Jesus says here is "ptōchos". And the best definition that I have found for this was found in the Enhanced Bible Lexicon and it says:
1 reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms. 2 destitute of wealth, influence, position, honour. 2a lowly, afflicted, destitute of the Christian virtues and eternal riches. 2b helpless, powerless to accomplish an end. 2c poor, needy. 3 lacking in anything. 3a as respects their spirit. 3a1 destitute of wealth of learning and intellectual culture which the schools afford
As you read through this definition, you will see that it does not solely focus on either the economically impoverished. Neither does it solely define the poor as those that are spiritually impoverished.
Jesus was sent [and following Jesus' example & strategy, we are sent as well] to those that are begging for more in life, those that are economically, socially, spiritually, educationally destitute. These are the people that need Jesus the most. Not because they are poor or rich, not because they are part of some caste system. Jesus went to those that needed him the most and he went with the Good News, the message of salvation, the message that God loves them and that he sent His son to die for them. That is the message of hope that Jesus came with.
I have seen too many churches all over, not just in my town, not just ones I have been on staff at... get so wrapped up in "doing ministry" that they have avoided the very people that Jesus loved & was sent to. The very people that you and I once were part of... the poor. Regardless of our socio-economic status... there was a time in our lives when we needed Jesus. We were spiritually impoverished. For some, you may have been economically poor, you may have been emotionally impoverished, you may have begging for more out of life... at some point we have all been there. Whether we knew it or not.
You see, Luke 4 churches that follow Jesus' example GO with the message of hope, the Good News, to those people in our towns & neighborhoods that need Jesus the most. Rich or poor, they need Jesus. You see when we are being Jesus, by showing God's love to those begging for more in life... whether it is economically, socially, spiritually or educationally... then God's love is going to motivate us to do what it is that Jesus would have done. As we are being Jesus, doing what Jesus would do... this will open the doors for us to tell people about Jesus.
A Luke 4 church... follows the example of Jesus by BEING Jesus, DOING what Jesus would do and in turn we are ultimately TELLING people about Jesus through not just proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God... but also demonstrating the Kingdom of God.
My next post will be on the piece that I stole from Ed Stetzer's [http://edstetzer.com] book, "Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community" and Luke 4 churches are post-[insert model name, missional, emerging, evangelical, etc].
