Frontline Ministries - A New Testament Philosophy of MinistryA New Testament Philosophy of Ministry
A New Testament Philosophy of Ministry
by
D. Massimo Lorenzini
Mission
To lead people to love and serve God (upreach), one another (inreach),
and our world (outreach) in and
through the local church.
Core Values
A biblical understanding of the gospel,
conversion, and evangelism.
The Gospel: The gospel is the
heart of Christianity. But the good news is not that God wants to meet
people’s felt needs or help them develop a healthier self-image. We have
sinfully rebelled against our Creator and Judge. Yet He has graciously
sent His Son to die the death we deserved for our sin, and He has
justified by faith those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus’
death and resurrection. That is
the good news. Conversion: The spiritual change
each person needs is so radical, so near the root of us, that only God can
do it. We need God to convert us. Conversion need not be an emotionally
heated experience, but it must evidence itself in godly fruit if it is to
be what the Bible regards as a true conversion. Evangelism: How someone shares
the gospel is closely related to how he understands the gospel. To present
it as an additive that gives non-Christians something they naturally want
(i.e. joy or peace) is to present a half-truth, which elicits false
conversions. The whole truth is that our deepest need is spiritual life,
and that new life only comes by repenting of our sins and believing in
Jesus. We present the gospel openly, and leave the converting to God.
The
centrality of the gospel of grace for believers. The great need of the
Church is to recover an understanding of the present power of the cross of
Christ. Believers need to "preach the gospel" to themselves
everyday. The doctrine of justification must drive our piety and service.
Justification and sanctification must stay joined. The union of these
doctrines is only possible when the gospel of grace is central in all
church life, doctrine and worship. The gospel is our canon within the
canon. All genuine holiness is traceable to the cross alone. We believe that
the accomplishments of the cross of Christ provide the motive, meaning,
and method of gospel holiness.
Sanctification
through communion with Christ. Communion with God in Christ is central
in our sanctification. Communion with the Lord through His Word is the
mightiest means of grace in our practical sanctification, maturity,
ongoing repentance and love for God. Grace is relational. We are saved in
order to know the Holy One. Through communion with Him we are transformed
from glory to glory and are conformed into the likeness of His holiness.
We are bold to draw near because we reckon the love of Christ and the
pardon and position we have in Him.
The
importance of sound theology. Theology teaches us who God is. Theology
teaches us to live unto God. Bible doctrine acquaints us with the works,
ways, character, purposes, and person of God. It is only possible to
please Him through a true knowledge of His majesty. Love and truth are
inseparable. Right doctrine is foundational to right practice. Theology is
intensely practical. It is essential to the renewing of the mind.
Accurate
Bible exposition. Our only spiritual authority is the
Word of God. The Bible must be rightly divided in order for its
proclamation to be accompanied with divine power. God only vests the
teaching of His Word with power and authority when the divinely intended
meaning of Scripture is taught. Scripture cannot mean today what it did
not mean in the first century A.D. The intent of the Scriptural authors is
best preserved and safeguarded by the grammatical-historical method of
interpretation. Context, historical setting, and grammar are essential to
accurate interpretation and exegesis. The grammatical-historical method of
exegesis is instrumental in both protecting and "unpacking" the message
God intends to communicate by His Word.
Exalting
Christ in all preaching. You're not preaching unless you are preaching
Christ. The grammatical-historical method must be joined to the goal of
always lifting up Christ. Luke 24:44 is our hermeneutic for the whole of
Scripture. Christ must be exalted in all our preaching. The church needs
to be called back to Christ and to the doctrines of grace which reveal the
heart of God in Christ. Following the pattern of the apostolic
hermeneutic, redemptive-historical preaching lifts up Christ in all of
Scripture. Redemptive-historical preaching seeks to communicate a text in
its larger context in the history of redemption. It allows the hearer to
grasp the "big picture" by progressively "zooming out"
from the immediate context to see how the text relates to God's eternal
purpose. Redemptive-historical preaching must join the indicative with the
imperative. All imperatives must flow out of the indicative. Grace
indicatives are to be joined with moral imperatives; doctrine with duty;
position with practice. Above all, God wants a holy people. Divine
enablement through Christ is our life under grace, without this is only moralism.
The
pursuit of joy in God. Delight in God is our highest calling.
Delight in God is fundamental to living for His glory. Our joy and God’s
glory are complementary. God is most glorified in us when we are most
satisfied in Him. We have been saved that we might increasingly be
satisfied with all that God is toward us in Christ. We were created to
experience God’s joy. Those who delight in God develop an increasing
passion for His glory. The effectual pastor will be a “God-intoxicated”
minister. The supremacy of God should fill our preaching. God is the “hero”
of every text of Scripture.
Individual
shepherding. Shepherding, discipling,
and counseling make up a large part of the Christian ministry. One on one
catechizing and instruction often accomplishes more than years of faithful
preaching. Through personal interviews and visitations believers advance
best in the understanding and application of Scripture. By calling upon
believers, the pastor is better able to convey his compassion and care for
their infirmities. By drawing close to the sheep, the minister will not
only be touched by their struggles, he will be far more informed about
their trials, doubts, personal struggles, misconceptions, and pet sins.
Then, he can admonish, call for repentance and pour the balm of Christ
upon their sin-inflicted wounds.
The
spiritual nature of ministry. Christ must have preeminence in all
things. The Church is to aspire to a relational knowledge of Christ that
transcends intellectual assent to biblical truths. The body of Christ is
to strive so as to realize Christ formed in its members. God matures and teaches
His people through meditation upon the Scriptures. Ministry is primarily
spiritual in nature. We are absolutely dependent upon the Holy Spirit to
quicken and renew our hearers. The minister whose work remains on the last
day is a man who has been taught by God's Spirit in the school of Christ. Therefore, the man
is inseparable from his message. God declares life-changing truth through
a man who has been radically changed by that truth.
Following
apostolic church patterns. Believing that the patterns for
ministry that the apostles laid down are authoritative as well as their
teaching, we seek to follow in their footsteps. Some examples of apostolic
patterns are: the primacy of the local church in Christian ministry, the
church meeting each week on the first day of the week; celebrating the
Lord's supper as a memorial of Christ's sacrifice; exercising church
discipline; NT grace-giving; every-member ministry; male headship in
church and home; believer's baptism by immersion; regenerate church
membership; plurality of elders; congregational polity.
Promoting
biblical manhood and womanhood. Men
and women have been created equally in the image of God but have
differences that are fundamentally complementary in nature. Regular
teaching and obedience to this truth is essential for the health of the
family and the church. One of the greatest needs of the day is the
development of young men into godly men who, in addition to knowing
Christ, come to know what manhood is all about and grow into men who
reject passivity and embrace responsibility. The family is God’s ordained
institution for raising children into spiritual and social wholeness. When
families breakdown, men are both the problem and the solution. God has
ordained that men be the head of their homes and so men are the key to
godly families. We must focus on training men and boys to become leaders
in their homes, community, and church.
A
commitment to missions. The
local church is the only institution commissioned by Christ to fulfill the
Great Commission. That means the local church is the place where future
missionaries are to come from and to be sent from. The local church has
the primary responsibility in missions and missions
agencies or other para-church ministries should
only aid and assist the local church in fulfilling its duties. The local
church should identify, train, commission, and support those the Lord has
called to serve in missions.
Identify, appoint, & mentor leaders; restructure for
multiplication by allowing them to lead ministries to the lost &
believers
Events
Dinner parties, outreach events, conferences
Spiritual retreats, recreational activities
Training seminars, service projects
Leadership training, conferences
Goals
Comprehension of the gospel message and their need to
repent and trust in Christ leading to conversion
Spiritual growth; active participation in church life;
working Bible knowledge; develop theology
Learn how to share and defend the faith; how to study the
Bible; marriage and parenting skills
How to teach the Bible; how to lead an interactive church
meeting; how to shepherd and counsel people
[1] The
details of this strategy are given as examples. The specific outworking of the
strategy will depend upon a number of factors relative to a local ministry.
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