{"id":390,"date":"2014-08-29T09:39:33","date_gmt":"2014-08-29T09:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/sitenews\/2014\/08\/29\/the-true-purpose-of-the-church\/"},"modified":"2014-08-29T09:39:33","modified_gmt":"2014-08-29T09:39:33","slug":"the-true-purpose-of-the-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/the-true-purpose-of-the-church\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe True Purpose of the Church\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Presented by\u00a0Wintley Phipps<\/em>
24 August 2012, Roga\u0161ka Slatina, Slovenia\u00a0[John Surridge,\u00a0ted<\/em>NEWS]\u00a0<\/span>The voice of renowned singer, Wintley Phipps, who also serves as the pastor and director of \u201cDream Academy\u201d, was first heard by the pastors at the EPC when he performed the song \u201cHis Eye is On the Sparrow\u201d on Thursday. In Friday\u2019s first plenary session however, he spoke.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not that he didn\u2019t sing as well \u2013 that would have been to cheat the 1,000 plus assembly out of an experience they had all been eagerly anticipating. His performance of \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d did not disappoint. The change in key that lead into that line \u201cWhen we\u2019ve been there 10,000 years\u201d<\/em> was literally spine tingling.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elder Phipps first came to Europe in 1975, though he noted that much had changed since then. In October 1992 he had the privilege of singing at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow \u2013 backed by a choir of 5,000! He has other connections with Europe: his backing music was recorded in Prague and last year he sang in the largest prison in Slovenia. This experience was related with some emotion \u2013 it was the first time, said Elder Phipps, that spouses and children had been allowed to join the inmates for such an event. Caring for the less privileged is a burden that God has placed on Elder Phipps\u2019 heart. Fifteen years ago he founded a ministry to children of prisoners in America. He calls this his \u201cCup of Water\u201d ministry because \u201cit has no strings attached.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moving on to his main message Elder Phipps fired a warning shot: \u201cI can speak openly and honestly because I know that my ticket home is secure.\u201d<\/em> He also cautioned that there was a possibility that he might end up preaching as he does in his home church. Nervous technicians and podcast editors were, however, quickly placated by his subsequent qualification: \u201c\u2026 but for a message to be immortal, it does not have to be eternal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Elder Phipps began by recognizing the challenge that we face. \u201cTo make God known in Europe,\u201d<\/em> he said, \u201cwe are called to make God known to minds that are steeped in Western culture.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Our situation, though, is not that different from the situation that Paul found himself in, in the Greco-Roman culture of the first century, and Phipps then told his story. Paul, a Jew, but schooled in Grecian thought; a Roman citizen by rights and privileged; truly multi-cultural and cosmopolitan; was recruited as a bounty-hunter for the Pharisees. The story starts with him tracking a band of Christians, but, said Elder Phipps, \u201cthe hunter was being hunted. He was being hunted by none other than Jesus Himself.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In Elder Phipps\u2019 view the dramatic transition in Paul\u2019s life came, not so much through the experience on the Damascus road when Jesus said, \u201cSaul, why are you persecuting me,\u201d but through his subsequent quiet time in Arabia.<\/p>\n

Yes, Paul was shunned and persecuted once he turned his back on his former way of life, but Jesus used the persecution to refine Paul\u2019s character. \u201cJesus feels the pain we suffer when we are persecuted,\u201d<\/em> said Elder Phipps, quoting Ellen White\u2019s comment that \u201cthe blow that is aimed at us, first falls on Christ.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It was through the experience of persecution, and through the subsequent quiet time in Arabia, that Paul saw the mistakes of his own life and was able to deal with them. \u201cIn the same way,\u201d<\/em> said Elder Phipps, \u201cGod places our flaws before us so that we can pray over them.\u201d<\/em> In fact, he went on, \u201cOften the best gifts that we have are given in compensation for what we have been through.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Lest anyone think that he was being self-righteous, Elder Phipps used an illustration from his own life to demonstrate this principle. He told of how many years ago, when he was first married, his wife noticed \u2013 and gently related to him \u2013 that he was treating her pretty girlfriends better than the ones who weren\u2019t so pretty. \u201cYou need to treat them all the same,\u201d <\/em>she said. It was a lesson he learned then and there, and a principle he has carried with him through life.<\/p>\n

But the main question, briefly left hanging, was, what happened to Paul in Arabia? Elder Phipps found an answer in Galatians 1:15,16 where Paul says, \u201cGod called me by his grace to reveal his Son in me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the summation of our calling,\u201d<\/em> said Elder Phipps. “We are called by God\u2019s grace to reveal His Son in us\u2026 This is God\u2019s purpose.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

For the remainder of his time on the platform Elder Phipps hammered home this message. It was a no-compromise, no holds barred appeal to the assembled pastors. \u201cThis is the nucleus of Paul\u2019s theology. This is what was taught to Paul by Jesus in Arabia. This is the true purpose of the church.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Summed up in one word: \u201cChrist-likeness\u201d<\/em>. This, said Elder Phipps, became the true purpose of Paul and it is the true purpose of the church today.<\/p>\n

Pre-empting many unspoken questions Elder Phipps admitted that, regarding his theology Paul had his critics then and he has his critics now. \u201cSome people think that Paul distorts the teachings of Jesus,\u201d <\/em>he said, \u201cbut I think that Paul left us a theological heritage that we have lost sight of: that revealing Christ to the world around us, in us, is the true purpose of the church.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cRevival and Reformation without Christ-likeness is pointless,\u201d<\/em> he continued. \u201cNothing we communicate to the world is more important than Christ-likeness\u2026 This should not be seen as an impossible burden, a standard we can never attain\u2026 Transformation of character is important, and it is possible.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cGrowing Christlike people who live so that God can reveal his son in them \u2013 this is the true purpose of the church, and every other purpose must serve that purpose,\u201d<\/em> said Elder Phipps. \u201cNothing is more important in the Christian life than the pursuit of Christ-likeness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This was Paul\u2019s epiphany in Arabia but the question is, do we as a people reveal the character of Christ today?<\/p>\n

A challenge: \u201cEverything that we have achieved as a church – if it does not equate to Christ-likeness, then we will have very little success in making God known in Europe.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Repeated with humour, a degree of irony, and to much applause, \u201cWe will be like bald men trying to sell hair-growing cream!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI believe this ought to be the marketing brand of the Seventh-day Adventist church,\u201d <\/em>said Elder Phipps, \u201cthat we grow people who look more like Jesus so that we can invite the world to embrace our faith\u2026 Any other goals, though noble, can become a distraction. I want to move the church to this understanding of its true purpose.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In his closing prayer Elder Phipps asked God to give the assembled ministers courage to face up the realities in their our own lives, and make the changes necessary to enable them to develop Christ-likeness, both in their own lives and their churches.<\/p>\n

During the ensuing break, above the hubbub of thirty or so competing languages, a word could be heard repeated over and over. Christ-likeness. Christ-likeness? Is it really the ONE thing that God wants to see in His church in the twenty-first century? Perhaps it is. [ted<\/em>NEWS]<\/p>\n

\n

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E-mail: tednews@ted-adventist.org
Website: www.ted-adventist.org<\/span><\/p>\n

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You are free to re-print any portion of the bulletin without need for special permission. However, we kindly request that you identify ted<\/em>NEWS whenever you publish these materials.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Presented by\u00a0Wintley Phipps<\/em>
24 August 2012, Roga\u0161ka Slatina, Slovenia\u00a0[John Surridge,\u00a0ted<\/em>NEWS]\u00a0<\/span>The voice of renowned singer, Wintley Phipps, who also serves as the pastor and director of \u201cDream Academy\u201d, was first heard by the pastors at the EPC when he performed the song \u201cHis Eye is On the Sparrow\u201d on Thursday. In Friday\u2019s first plenary session however, he spoke.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not that he didn\u2019t sing as well \u2013 that would have been to cheat the 1,000 plus assembly out of an experience they had all been eagerly anticipating. His performance of \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d did not disappoint. The change in key that lead into that line \u201cWhen we\u2019ve been there 10,000 years\u201d<\/em> was literally spine tingling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1577],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-organisational-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}