A Church with a Responsive Spirit

The church at Antioch was not so busy being preoccupied with its own interests that it could not respond to God. In three passages of Acts (11:21; 11:24; 11:26) we see that a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. We also see that there was implied discipleship taking place (11:26). Finally, there is the story of how the church, led by a prophet from Jerusalem named Agabus, responded ta a famine in Judea by collected gifts to send back (11:27-30).

A healthy church today will model a responsive spirit to the call of God - not only to the church itself, but to the concerns of others. What makes this even more remarkable is that the peoples they helped were some of the same ones they run away from to escape persecution.

So, the final two characteristics we can learn from the church at Antioch:

Passion for People Maturing Believers

How does your church measure against the model of the church at Antioch?

A Church with Resourceful Staffing

The church at Antioch was healthy and growing because it resourced itself with good leaders who were blessed by God. The unnamed men from Cyprus and Cyrene set the bar high by spreading the good news to the Greeks, with a great number of them believing in the Lord. Their success led the Jerusalem church to send Barnabas to the church at Antioch.

Barnabas is introduced in Acts 4:36-37 as a Levite from Cyprus. His first act of leadership is generosity: he sold a field he owned and put the money at the apostles’ feet. The next time we encounter Barnabas, he intercedes with the disciples on behalf of Saul/Paul. Because of Paul’s reputation before he encountered the Lord on the Damascus road, it wasn’t an easy task. Yet after Barnabas’ intercession, Paul “moved freely about Jerusalem, speaking boldly” (9:27). News of the church at Antioch reached the church at Jerusalem and Barnabas was sent to help. There he encouraged the church to continue their good work, but he recognized that Paul would be a great help to the young church, and he went to Tarsus to bring Paul back. They worked together for a year, teaching great numbers of people – who were called Christians first at Antioch.

Barnabas let no opportunity escape to add value to others. Probably the best example is his relationship with Paul:

• He believed in Paul before anyone else did
• He endorsed Paul’s leadership to other leaders
• He empowered Paul to reach his potential
  

The church at Antioch was healthy and growing because it had selfless leaders like Barnabas who saw the necessity of investing in others so that their work might be multiplied.

Evidence of resource staffing goes beyond Barnabas’ direct interaction with Paul. One of the very first marks of the health of the church at Antioch was how they treated everyone – as family. Not wanting to carry the good news to just the Jews, they went to the Greeks. The fellowship and communion they held established deep connections as if they were family. And they were, not flesh and blood, but spirit bound family. The sense of family permeated the church even beyond Antioch. When news of a famine in Judea reached the church, Agabus organized relief efforts. Why? Because they were family, and family members cannot ignore the needs of others in the family.

This commitment to family relationships in Antioch also required the concentration on nurturing and discipling new believers. The sequence of events had Barnabas and Saul teaching considerable numbers for a year, and then they were called Christians. Theses new believers who had been won to Christ from a pagan background did not resemble followers of Christ until they had been discipled for an entire year. Discipling is nothing more that parenting new believers as they grow to maturity.

Here, then, are two more characteristics of a healthy church as modeled at Antioch:

Servant Leaders

Kingdom Family

Resourceful staffing means investing time and resources into developing leaders. You must do more than believe in emerging leaders – you need to take steps to help them become the leaders they have the potential to be. It requires energy and time. If you do it right, you will have the privilege of seeing someone move up to a higher level.

Who will you be the Barnabas to in your church?

A Church with Real Spirituality

The church at Antioch had a real spirituality evidenced by the manifestation of the power of God and the evidence of the grace of God. Acts 11:21, 13:2, and 13:3 say this:

The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed

and turned to the Lord.

While they were worshipping the Lord...

So after they had fasted and prayed...

The "hand of God" in Scripture is a metaphor for the power of God. The power of God was present not just for show, but for results - a great number of people believed. The power of God led them to worship. "Worship" in this text is likened to "priestly work" - standing before God on behalf of people and standing before God on behalf of people. Fasting is giving up that which is normal, natural, and necessary in order to focus on one's relationship to God. The church at Antioch fasted, prayed, and their worship was made stronger.

If the church at Antioch is going to be a model for the church today, we have identified three more characteristics to develop:

Supernatural Power Christ-Exalting Worship God-Connecting Prayer

"The hand of God" and "the grace of God" are two phrases used to describe the favor of the Lord for the church at Antioch. It was demonstrated by large numbers of people turning to God, serious prayer and fasting, and the fellowship between Jew and Gentile. This was a church that could not be contained within walls, one that was living its connection to Christ everyday.

The church at Antioch focused its attention on God, standing before Him in worship, giving Him praise and worship. The results speak for themselves: many people came to believe. But note that church growth was not the reason for worship - it was a result of worship. If we plan and program worship to grow believers, we miss the mark. But if we focus on God alone, in praise and worship of Him, then a response will follow.

The church at Antioch understood that prayer connected them to the power of God. In today's terms, prayer was the fuel that drove the church at Antioch. And it was not superficial, recited prayer - it was prayer intensified by fasting, so that the focus could be on connecting with God.

Does your church have real spirituality? Is the power of God evident in the plans and directions of your ministry? When you worship, do you worship the power and glory of God, or put on a show? Is prayer your power source - or last resort?

A Church with a Revolutionary Stance

The church at Antioch is introduced in Acts 11:19-30. The persecution of the Jews began full-force when Stephen spoke up to the religious status quo and was stoned to death. Men from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Antioch and began to tell the Good News to the Greeks there. The Lord's hand was with them and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

These nameless men (NOT church leaders) were compelled to come to Antioch from North Africa and the island of Cyprus to bring the gospel to the people there. The revolutionary stance of these men enabled them to see that adversity was not the occasion for fear and complacency but that it presented an opportunity to be seized. They turned the scattering because of persecution into the opportunity of spreading the good news of Jesus everywhere they went.

They also crossed cultural boundaries: while some of the scattered preached to the Jews, these men went to the Greeks also. They were not content to fit into the status quo, but instead chose to go to a group that had been previously excluded from the gospel. Craig Groschel says it well:

To reach people no one else is reaching,

we must do things no one else is doing.

If I were looking at the church at Antioch as a model or pattern to build a healthy church today, the foundation characteristic is this:

God-Sized Vision

Healthy churches are characterized by vision. They hear from God, respond in obedience, reorient their priorities, devise an action plan that reflects their vision and enables them to accomplish their goals, then they roll up their sleeves and go to work.

Thank you Pastor Sam for proclaiming the revolutionary stance of Bronx Bethany, not just for your community, but for the world.

Antioch: Model for the Effective Church

Earlier this month I was re-introduced to the importance of the early church at Antioch by Dr. Samuel Vassel, pastor of the Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene. In a passionate sermon, Pastor Sam ignited my curiosity that day (along with the rest of the congregation). I want to spend a few days posting about this church from Acts 11 and 13 and in the process, help us learn some lessons that are applicable to all churches today. In addition to Scripture, I will be referencing Pastor Sam’s work, materials from Dr. Ken Hemphill, and various other ideas.

Antioch was a major commercial city in the time of the early church. The third-largest city in the Roman Empire, it was located about 300 miles north of Jerusalem, about 20 miles form the Mediterranean Sea. First century Antioch was a genuine melting pot. Its 500,000 inhabitants joined western and eastern cultures, Greek and Roman cultures, Semitic Arab and Persian influences. The city also contained a large Jewish population, most likely larger than even Jerusalem. Amid all the sophistication, commerce, and culture, Antioch indulged itself as a very visible representation of Roman vice.

Yet in just a few years the young church had outpaced the church at Jerusalem. Why?

History lesson aside for a moment, what city today is “Antioch”? Pastor Sam makes a good case for New York City - and I agree. But to a certain degree, almost any urban area has characteristics of Antioch - and therefore we have an opportunity to learn about ministry in YOUR city.

And what characteristics must any church wanting to serve a modern Antioch possess? That's where we begin our journey tomorrow.