by Pastor Patrick Cho

This Thursday, I had the privilege of speaking to Crossroads Campus Ministry at UCSD on the topic of prayer. This is one of those issues that all believers understand is something they need to apply in their lives, and yet almost all of the Christians I know would say that their prayer lives are not where they would like them to be. I really believe that one of the reasons we fail in prayer the way we do is because Christ does not remain central in our prayer lives. All true believers would hold that salvation comes not as a result of our work or merit but completely by the grace of God (cf. Eph. 2:8-9). There is thus a willingness on our parts to glorify Christ for our salvation and to keep him central in the doctrine of justification.

A shift in centrality tends to take place, however, when it comes to how we pray. It seems as though in prayer we remove Christ as the central focus and place ourselves in that place of centrality instead. We pray for our felt needs, our desires, our will, and we fail not only to acknowledge God’s will, but also to desire it at all.

It is no surprise that God desires our prayers. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 teaches us to pray without ceasing. Colossians 4:2 tells us to devote ourselves to prayer. And Jesus assumes prayer in His instruction in Matthew 6 (“When you pray…”). This is more than a call to discipline, though prayer definitely is a discipline we need to maintain and develop. We must remember that we have access to the Creator of the universe and He desires to hear from us! Do we have a desire to speak with Him?

For more on prayer, John Piper offers helpful insight into God’s purpose in prayer in his book, Let the Nations Be Glad.

by Pastor John Kim

As I wrote the previous entry, I realized that there are a number of things that should have been defined clearly as I don’t want to assume that people automatically understand what I am talking about. So I will attempt to provide some foundational points in continuing on the topic of parachurch ministries. What is a local church? Essentially, it would refer to a body of believers that are the visible representation of the invisible, universal church, which is comprised of the body of Christ worldwide. The local church is to be governed by qualified leaders (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1) who are called to shepherd the flock according to the standards and parameters set by the Scriptures. The local church is the body in which all the one anothers are to be fleshed out in obedience to Christ. 1 Corinthians 12 gives a great analogy of the physical body as an illustration of how the body of Christ is to work. The local church is where the ordinances of baptism and communion are to be practiced. While a local church is by no means perfect in its representation of the body of Christ, it is the primary vehicle through which God is carrying out the New Testament plan of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). The local church does include unbelievers in attendance, though their attendance does not make them a part of the universal body of Christ. But in the end, the local church is the institution through which God has and will continue to fulfill His plans.

What is a para-church? My simple definition is this – a particular ministry with a particular purpose for a particular group of people for a particular period of time. Examples of para-church ministries would be college campus ministries such as Campus Crusade for Christ, Navigators, Inter-Varsity. Other examples would be seminaries, missions organizations, Christian publishing houses, specialized ministries for the homeless, counseling ministries, and the list goes on. The basic premise of a para-church ministry is that it would come alongside (“para”) and assist the church in areas where churches might be deficient in their ability to minister. Many of the mega-churches today have the capacity and ability to provide and oversee a multitude of ministries, which result in less of a dependence on para-church ministries to cover particular needs. On the other hand, small churches are often very short-handed in their ability to minister to and reach out to people of various backgrounds. Some churches end up becoming very dependent on various para-church ministries to provide ministry for collegians, for overseas missions, etc.

The reason why I felt compelled to share about this issue is because there is a very REAL problem with the understanding of the role of the local church by many who have, whether intentionally or not, diminished, demeaned, and even boldly claimed the demise of the local church in favor of what recently has been advocated by George Barna in his book, “Revolution” – the idea of just independent gatherings of believers outside the context of the local church since so many local churches have failed in fulfilling their calling. This kind of mentality is dangerous in that it breeds the kind of entrepreneurial mentality towards the church that pushes for a very man-centered and man-driven organization versus a God-centered and God-driven obedience to the Word of God. While I can sympathize and identify with many of the criticisms that people have about the local church (just ask me to share about my 10 year experience in the Korean church scene), I still have hope and confidence that because it is God’s church and since Jesus Christ is the head of the church, we can forge ahead and pursue the ministry of the local church with vigor and enthusiasm because we can see God do the work that He promised to do, that is, that He will build the church and the gates of Hades will not stand against it.

One verse that really has been a tremendous blessing as well as a reminder to keep my focus in the right place is Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” This is the passage where we first set our hopes back in March 1998 when we started praying for the planting of Lighthouse Bible Church. I can say with confidence that God has truly fulfilled this passage in so many ways as we have absolutely seen God do exceeding abundantly beyond what we asked for or thought. We have seen His power at work and because it is His power that is the source behind all that has taken place, we give Him all the praise and glory in this church!!

As I shared this past Sunday about my own struggles and my shortcomings, it is a clear reminder of my inability and frailty to do anything on my own. But with God’s power, we are given abundant grace to be used by our Lord to fulfill our roles in the body of Christ and what we see now at LBC is the fruit of obedience and commitment to God’s design and plan rather than following our own or what the latest fad advocates. So consider the high calling of being a part of a local church that seeks God’s glory and run with it!!

by Pastor Patrick Cho

If you attend Lighthouse long enough you are bound to hear some teaching about the priority of the local church. This is one of the firm convictions of LBC since the Scriptures teach that the church is God’s one ordained institution that He will use to carry out His will and purpose in the world. In Matthew 16:18, after Peter’s great confession, Christ says that He would build His church. It is interesting that Christ does not say, “I will build THE church.” It is HIS church. It has always been His church and has never been our church. Because the church is Christ’s we ought to have the same understanding about it that Christ had, namely a biblical understanding as it is revealed in Christ’s Word.

In Acts 20:28, Paul instructs the Ephesian elders to “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” In Matthew 16, Christ declared that the church was His church. In the Acts passage, Paul gives the reason why it is Christ’s – Christ purchased the church with His own blood. This certainly buttresses the notion that Christ can lay claim to the church. He determines what the church is and how it is to be run. This is the reason why Paul even sees the role of an elder as a divinely ordained position, “among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers” (cf. 1 Tim 3). The elders would have no authority in the church if it had not first been given to them by God.

1 Corinthians 4:17 gives another picture of what it means that the church is God’s divinely ordained institution. Paul tells the Corinthians in that passage that he would send Timothy to remind the church of his ways. Paul says that his ways “are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.” There was no room for human invention when it came to the work of the ministry. Paul was devoted to Christ’s ways – he made Christ’s ways his ways. Notice also the consistency with which Paul did his ministry. It was this way “everywhere in every church.” This Christ-centered ministry permeated his missions work because he understood that the church was God’s church and not his church (cf. 1 Cor 1:2).

It is God’s church and so God appoints the leaders. It is God’s church so God directs the ministry. In this very tangible way, Christ is building His church. This is the reason why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:28 that God has appointed in the church the various ministers and ministries. God governs the order in the church because it is His church (cf. 1 Cor 14:33). What greater statement is there about Christ’s identity with the church than Ephesians 1:22-23, “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all”? The church is described as the body of Christ. He is the head of the church and the church is subject to His headship (Eph 5:23-24; cf. Col 1:18). This is not an overbearing, cruel headship, but a loving relationship that shows Christ’s unbreakable commitment to His church. The language of Ephesians 5 is sometimes hard to follow because of the intermingling of imagery between Christ and the church and the husband and the wife. The marriage relationship is to be a picture of Christ’s commitment to the church. It is no wonder then that God hates divorce (Mal 2:16).

One potential point of confusion that I am happy Pastor John brought up is the distinction between the church and the parachurch. One of the reasons why this is a point of confusion is that it is a comparison of two institutions – one divinely ordained in Scripture and the other conceived by men. In this sense, the two are not comparable as two of the same kind. Rather, they must be examined as two different things.

I want to emphasize that I am not in any way saying that God cannot use the parachurch for His purposes. He certainly has and continues to do so. I am not saying that the parachurch is incapable of any good. Certainly I can bear testimony to the amazing ministry that parachurches provide having been part of an amazing parachurch ministry in college and even after college in seminary. The point that I am making is that if one really desires to be committed to ministry as God intended ministry to be done, he must primarily be committed to the church. Although the New Testament speaks of the universal, invisible, catholic church, it is also clear that the working out of ministry is done by means of local churches. In this sense, it might be argued that ontologically as believers we find identity in the universal church. But economically, our function as believers is best understood in the context of the local church. Regardless of whether you are involved in parachurch ministry or not, as helpful as parachurch ministry can be, as believers you are called to work out your spiritual giftedness and abilities in the church, because it is His church.

I want to elaborate on the differences between the church and the parachurch, but I will have to save that for a later time since this entry is getting long.

by Pastor John Kim

As I have promised to those who have asked, I will be posting on topics that will no doubt generate some measure of controversy as I will press some of the hot button topics that many of our members have had to confront.

The local church versus parachurch controversy has long been an issue, not just in San Diego with LBC but throughout the Christian community nationwide, if not worldwide. Contrary to some reports by various individuals and parachurch ministries, I have never once stated that I hate parachurch ministries, believe that parachurch ministries are evil, or have pushed for people to leave parachurch ministries. I do have many concerns though, and I will stress several of them here.

Concern #1 – A Disregard for the Importance of the Local Church Ministry

There are many who have experienced many blessings through parachurch ministries (myself included) and there is no doubt that God can and will use various parachurch ministries to help people grow. But what is disconcerting is how many will show a passive attitude or even worse, a disdain for the importance of the local church. Granted, there are many local churches that have not conducted themselves well and are often unable to provide the breadth of ministries that are needed, especially for collegians. So many collegians, finding the convenience of a parachurch ministry to be quite the draw, will immerse themselves into the campus ministry, joining small groups, service teams, retreats, seminars, leadership roles and meetings, and a host of activities that will often keep them quite busy throughout the week and even the weekend, to the point where any discretionary time will be quickly taken up. With the demand for academic studies, other extra-curricular activities, the first candidate for getting axed out of the regular schedule will often be involvement in the local church. This is justified by many claiming that since they are involved in the “universal church” through the parachurch, there should be no problems with their lack of involvement.

This in itself is problematic in that the understanding of the “universal church” was never meant to be a justification to avoid being committed to the local church ministry. 1 Timothy 3:15 states the words of the apostle Paul:

But in case I am delayed, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

This follows the section on church leaders as well as conduct within the church relating to men’s and women’s roles and so there seems to be a clear indication that there is to be a certain structure and guidelines that a church must follow in order to constitute a legitimate local church body. There is supposed to be a clear accountability to God’s Word as well as to the leaders that God calls for a church to submit to that needs to be in place (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).

My concern is with those who would advocate that involvement in a parachurch ministry can be a legitimate replacement for the local church. I would say that involvement in a parachurch ministry is fine but must be subordinate to a commitment to the local church being primary.

I was an advisor to a campus ministry a number of years ago and one of the servant leaders communicated that she was going to step down from her responsibilities at the parachurch ministry due to the fact that her load was quite heavy and that she couldn’t do both the parachurch and her local church ministry. The response of the core leaders was quite surprising to me as they made an issue of her integrity to maintaining her commitment, while at the same time disregarding the policy that had been communicated to everyone that if one had to choose between local church and parachurch ministry, it would be no question that one should stick with the local church. When I brought this up, the leaders simply dismissed it and insisted that the greater issue was the integrity of the individual for not carrying out her commitment at the parachurch ministry. This to me showed an utter disregard for the importance of the local church ministry.

I recently had a discussion with a leader from another parachurch ministry who was surprised to hear me state the “priority” of the local church. He asked me to define that distinction and what ensued was a very enlightening response which simply portrayed a position that saw no distinction between the local church and the parachurch ministry. This again showed me a disregard for what seems to be a clear presentation of the New Testament about the importance of being involved in the local church.

It might be that because many have had negative experiences in a local church and a positive experience in a parachurch ministry that this kind of attitude might arise. Admittedly, there are many churches who unfortunately have not done a good job in fulfilling what the Scriptures call a church to be. But just because there is an abuse does not mean that the principle is wrong (as I have been told so many times regarding other issues). What really needs to be addressed is the lack of accountability that so many parachurch ministries have, no matter how well-intentioned they might be.

It is no surprise that many parachurch ministries fluctuate tremendously from year to year depending on the level of spirituality shown by the members. Doctrinal distinctives often change with the tide and whatever happens to be the flavor of the month will often dictate what will set the tone. Since there are no clear parameters set (other than to be as minimal as possible so as to provide the widest range of availability), decisions are made that often contradict the original intentions of those who founded the ministry. This is exactly what I found in the parachurch ministry that I was involved with, which had very purposely worked toward putting ourselves out of existence as a parachurch ministry as the goal was to equip people to strengthen the churches. But this purpose was later cast aside because, as I was told, “things had changed” and what might have been true before was no longer valid.

My challenge to parachurches would be this – how is it that the standards of a ministry can be so vague, especially when it comes to the qualifications of leaders when the Scriptures call very clearly for character and proven-ness, especially that no new convert should be a leader because of the danger of pride? How is it that individuals who would never qualify as an elder, deacon, or deaconess at a local church could so easily be given a role where there is teaching, shepherding, and training involved without proper equipping? How is it that someone can lead a discipleship small group when he or she has not been properly discipled? I have seen this happen time and time again, with the consequences being that of many who receive superficial help, often times outright dangerous counsel that is devoid of Biblical principles and authority. It is no surprise then to see many upon graduating from college go backwards, even to go as far as to deny the faith, which I have unfortunately seen take place even with those from my college years.

Lighthouse has had the opportunity to provide the kind of shepherding ministry that fulfills the Titus 2 mandate (older men/women training the younger men/women) as well as to provide the kind of accountability that individuals need through the membership process and accountability. The elders of the church take very seriously the role of shepherding the flock because we know that many are exposed to all sorts of dangerous influences that undermine the Lordship of Christ and the authority, sufficiency, and clarity of Scripture. With all the latest fads (i.e. seeker-sensitive churches, emergent churches, egalitarianism, open theism, etc.), there is a desperate need for believers to have the kind of shepherding that will protect them from the savage wolves that will come from WITHIN the church!!

Acts 20:27-30
For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.

This was Paul speaking to the elders of the Ephesian church and as he met them in Miletus, he gave them his final words as he anticipated his arrest in Jerusalem. Notice that Paul addresses them as “overseers” and that they are called to “shepherd the church of God.” This is exactly what takes place in the “evangelical” world today – herds of wolves who infiltrate the church with all sorts of error, all in the name of “doing good.”

It is on many occasions (though not exclusively) that doctrinal deviance takes place in parachurch ministries and there is absolutely no accountability or safeguards that are in place to protect people from bad doctrine. The local church with a godly eldership was God’s design to protect the church. Again, it is unfortunate that many churches have not provided this but this does not mean that God’s design has failed. It means that man has been disobedient and instead of changing God’s design, we should actually FOLLOW IT!!!

I know that this has ended up being only the first concern – I will follow this up with more concerns shortly.

But suffice it to say – I truly do love the local church ministry that we have at Lighthouse and pray that we will humbly honor God through our obedience to fulfill the calling of what a church is meant to be according to His Word. We also need to pray for our sister local churches to really fulfill God’s calling as well. We do need to pray for parachurch ministries as well so that they would honor God and respect His Word concerning the ministry of the local church.

by Pastor Patrick Cho

One issue that I have been intending to address on this blog is something that has caused some unfortunate confusion and misunderstanding in the church. Being a graduate of The Master’s Seminary, I understand that there is a perception (and sadly sometimes warranted) that “Master’s guys” have a knack for preaching cold, rigid theology in a domineering, blunt, and even arrogant way. John alluded to this in his previous entry that there is a certain unavoidable stigma that comes with being a TMS alumnus. I am, therefore, thankful that John elaborated on Lighthouse’s commitment to preach the truth of God in love. Paul refers to speaking truth in love in 1 Timothy 1:5 where he writes, “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” The relationship of love and truth is also the theme of much of the epistles of John. John writes, “Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love” (2 John 3).

Truth taught without the temperance of love is cold, impersonal, and oftentimes unnecessarily offensive. Love without the standard and foundation of truth is misguided, shallow, and oftentimes misleading. In order to love in a godly way, one must know and be committed to the truth about love as it is revealed in the Word of God. In order to preach the truth in a godly way, one must also understand and sincerely work to apply God’s heart of love.

I suppose the issue that arises from this discussion is where conviction plays a role in our communication of beliefs. Unfortunately, when one speaks out of conviction it is frequently misunderstood as bold arrogance. However, in 1 Thessalonians 2:2, Paul states, “…we had the boldness in our God to speak to you….” While Paul characterizes his instruction as boldness, his life was at the same time indisputably characterized by humility (cf. 2 Cor 12:11). If we take a closer look at what is intended in 1 Thessalonians 2, it helps to provide a greater understanding of how one can be bold in proclamation and yet remain humble. While it is unfortunate that conviction and boldness are misinterpreted as arrogance, it is equally or even more unfortunate that some with good reason to have conviction cannot communicate their convictions with “humble boldness.”

How can Paul say that he and his partners in ministry had boldness to speak? First, he understood that the authority behind what he communicated was not found in himself but in God. I have often thought that one of the keys to true humility is giving credit to the right people and not undeservedly taking credit for oneself. Notice that Paul qualifies his boldness by saying that it is “in our God.” Outside of the revealed truth of God, Paul had no grounds for speaking with boldness. Isn’t it true that when we speak with boldness without first being quick to hear the Word and fully contemplating what the Bible says about a matter we discover that our bold assertions are actually foolishness? Paul’s only claim to boldness came in God (cf. 2 Cor 10:17). Only by thinking God’s thoughts after Him and speaking God’s words could he speak with boldness. This actually says less about the character of Paul than it does the character of Paul’s God. He understood that without God he was reduced to nothing.

Second, and this is certainly related, Paul understood that the source of the message itself was from God. The instruction that Paul bore was “the gospel of God” (2:2). It is God’s gospel. This is the reason Paul states, “For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor 4:5). To be committed to anything else than preaching the true gospel of Christ is futility and focusing on peripherals at best. This is the same instruction that Paul gave to Timothy, “Preach the Word!” (2 Tim 4:2). Don’t preach useless words (2:14)! Don’t preach worldly and empty chatter (2:16)! Don’t preach useless speculation (2:23)! Don’t preach deceptive messages (3:13)! Don’t preach ear tickling stories (4:3)! Don’t preach according to the desires of men (4:3)! Don’t preach myths (4:4)! Preach the unadulterated gospel of God!

It is possible to speak conviction with boldness and yet to maintain a spirit of humility. Of course much of this is dependent upon whether the one who speaks backs his words with a lifestyle of humility. In any case, one must not be too quick to judge someone as arrogant because he speaks with confidence or boldness. Of course even when something is spoken properly from proper motives and with proper means, one’s message still may not be received the way it was truly intended. This places even more responsibility upon the one who speaks with conviction to make sure that truth is indeed spoken and colored with godly love.