Know: Review the features of the church’s organizational and authority structure that help foster the unity of the church.
Feel: Nurture attitudes of humility, love, and willing submission rather than of self-seeking behavior.
Do: Resolve to support attempts to foster unity in the church.
Learning Outline:
Know: Authority and Unity
In what ways does recognizing Christ as the Head of the church impact the decision making and authority of its human leadership?
Why was Jesus so insistent that spiritual leaders be nothing like those of the Roman world around them?
How does the practice of church discipline demonstrate love and at the same time preserve church doctrinal purity and unity?
Feel: Humility Versus Pride
What leadership qualities and attitudes promote unity?
How do these attitudes impact the motivation and practice of church discipline?
How can we foster the attitudes of humility and submission toward others rather than of pride and self-seeking behavior?
Do: Fostering Unity
What steps do you need to take to assist the leadership of the church in its maintaining of church unity?
In what ways can you use your spiritual gifts to build up the church and foster unity?
Summary: Believers recognize Christ as the Head of the church. Nevertheless, a degree of human organization is essential for the mission and the unity of the church. Leaders foster unity through serving humbly, upholding truth, engaging in redemptive discipline, and organizing the church for mission.
STEP 1—Motivate
Spotlight on Scripture: Matthew 20:25–28
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth: The church’s organizational structure aids the mission and unity of the church when the headship of Christ is honored and its leaders demonstrate love, humility, and faithfulness in their lives.
Just for Teachers: The concept of leaders exercising power over other people is not in keeping with the model of authority that Jesus demonstrated to His disciples. A Christian leader should instead be a humble servant leader. As you open the lesson, emphasize the value of both servant leadership and humility.
Opening Discussion: Mahatma Gandhi fought for India’s independence from Britain in the opening years of the twentieth century. A devout Hindu, he valued and pursued equality for all races and classes of people. He dressed in a simple loincloth and lived a life of voluntary poverty, serving and identifying with the poor of society. He volunteered to nurse those whom others avoided, such as people with leprosy and pneumonic plague. Committed to passive resistance, he consistently displayed humility in his interactions with others. Ironically, Gandhi had been attracted to the life of Jesus, but he rejected Christianity because Christians did not live like the Christ of the Bible.
Christians have been called to servanthood. Although Gandhi was not a Christian, he modeled servant leadership by serving others and putting their needs before his own needs.
Questions for Discussion: What made Gandhi’s leadership so powerful? Why was Gandhi able to model servant leadership? How does servant leadership draw attention to the cause that the individual is representing?
STEP 2—Explore
Just for Teachers: Every aspect of the church’s authority structure offers an opportunity for a countercultural demonstration of love, humility, and faithfulness that fosters the unity of the church. Emphasize the importance of both the headship and servanthood of Christ in understanding the role of leaders in the church.
Bible Commentary
I. Authority Structures (Review Ephesians 5:23–27 and Matthew 20:25–28 with your class.)
The church is God’s creation and possession with Christ as its Living Head. It exists as God’s representative on earth with a specific mission to demonstrate the character of God. Jesus’ prayer in John 17 indicates that unity between the believers contributes to the success of the church’s mission (John 17:20–23). Crucial to both the unity and mission of the church is the headship of Christ. As Head of the body (Col. 1:18), Jesus provides both the identity for the church and the Source of its life. We are therefore dependent upon Him for our existence and progress as a church. The image of the church as a body also reminds us that the Head directs and governs the church. Without the Head, the other parts of the body cannot function together. It is the Head that unites and coordinates the action of the body to accomplish its mission.
Nevertheless, Christ has delegated some of His authority to the church, which functions more efficiently when there are human leaders. Ellen G. White argued that “gospel order” within the church was “indispensably necessary in order to bring the church into the unity of the faith.”—Early Writings, p. 100. She initially voiced her opinions at a critical time in Adventist history when there was little organization within the movement. The church existed in largely unconnected congregational groups that lacked even the most basic authority structure. This posed a problem for the unity and mission of the church. Of particular concern was the vulnerability of the church to false teaching because of teachers who pushed peculiar and personal agendas. A call to gospel order was therefore necessary to protect the unity of the church.
Care must be taken, however, to understand the role that leaders play in the church. They are called to a countercultural model of authority that embraces servanthood rather than domination. Although it is not always evident in the English translations of the Bible, Paul and other New Testament writers carefully avoided describing the role of church leaders in the Greek terms commonly used to describe the function of those leading in secular roles. Furthermore, the disciples were advised specifically that they were not to lord it over others like the Gentiles (Matt. 20:25–28).
The servant model of leadership contributes to the harmony and unity of the church precisely because it is humble, unselfish, and empowering of others. Servant leaders set the tone by listening and serving rather than by demanding their own ways. Their focus is the mission of the church and not their own glory (see 1 Pet. 5:2, 3). Church leaders also contribute to the unity of the church by remaining in connection with Christ, maintaining the truth that unites us, and modeling the values of healthy relationships.
Second Timothy 2:15 also suggests that leaders need to be genuine and correct in both their teachings and in their conduct. They must hold firmly and faithfully to the truth, but, at the same time, act in accordance with the gospel they preach. True servanthood arises from an authentic relationship with God, which is informed by the truth of the gospel.
Consider This: In what ways is the headship of Christ visible in the Seventh-day Adventist Church? What does Christ’s headship imply about the role of human leaders? How does servant leadership promote the mission of the church?
II. Discipline and Unity (Review Galatians 6:1, 2 and Matthew 18:15–20 with your class.)
Even with the best servant leadership, there are still times in church life in which discipline is needed for the sake of the individual or the church. While church discipline seems to have become less popular in the twenty-first century, it nevertheless plays an important role in maintaining the unity of the church.
In his book Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the Name of Jesus (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2012), Jonathan Leeman identifies four ways in which church discipline is a loving response that protects the unity of the church while advancing its mission. First, church discipline shows love for the individual by helping him or her recognize wrongdoing and with it the need for repentance. Church discipline is redemptive in nature and not simply punitive. Second, church discipline shows a love for the church because it aims to protect from harm and temptation those who might be new or weak in the faith. Third, church discipline shows love for the world beyond the church walls by allowing the church to project a witness that more accurately displays the transforming power of the gospel. Finally, church discipline shows love for Christ through both obedience and the safeguarding of His reputation.
Consider This: When is discipline needed? Why do you think that some churches are reticent to practice church discipline? Do you agree with Jonathan Leeman’s suggestion that discipline is a loving response that protects the name of Jesus? Why, or why not? In what ways do you see church discipline impacting the mission of the church?
STEP 3—Apply
Just for Teachers: The application questions allow for teachers to focus on one of two areas: either (1) servant leadership or (2) the connection between church discipline and love.
Application Questions:
How are the ideas of authority and servanthood compatible?
What motivates servant leadership?
How do you reconcile Jesus’ instructions not to judge others with the need for church discipline?
In your experience, how has church discipline been used? How does what you have observed align with the loving responses outlined above? How can we ensure that it is used redemptively?
What differences might there be in the way public and private sins are handled?
STEP 4—Create
Just for Teachers: It is easy to limit our consideration of servant leadership to those in appointed offices of the church, but all members of the church are called to use their spiritual gifts to serve the church. Discuss the function of spiritual gifts to build up the church. Help your class understand the need for every member to serve willingly.
Activities: Listen to a selection of songs about serving others and reflect on their words. Then consider how you can serve both your church and your community in a practical way. There are many Christian songs dealing with the topic of service, especially as it relates to the world beyond the church. If you are stuck for ideas, consider songs such as “O Jesus, I Have Promised,” “Make Me a Servant,” “Do Something,” “Legacy,” or “If We Are the Body.”
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Key Text: Matthew 20:26
The Student Will:
Learning Outline:
Know: Authority and Unity
Feel: Humility Versus Pride
Do: Fostering Unity
Summary: Believers recognize Christ as the Head of the church. Nevertheless, a degree of human organization is essential for the mission and the unity of the church. Leaders foster unity through serving humbly, upholding truth, engaging in redemptive discipline, and organizing the church for mission.
STEP 1—Motivate
Spotlight on Scripture: Matthew 20:25–28
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth: The church’s organizational structure aids the mission and unity of the church when the headship of Christ is honored and its leaders demonstrate love, humility, and faithfulness in their lives.
Just for Teachers: The concept of leaders exercising power over other people is not in keeping with the model of authority that Jesus demonstrated to His disciples. A Christian leader should instead be a humble servant leader. As you open the lesson, emphasize the value of both servant leadership and humility.
Opening Discussion: Mahatma Gandhi fought for India’s independence from Britain in the opening years of the twentieth century. A devout Hindu, he valued and pursued equality for all races and classes of people. He dressed in a simple loincloth and lived a life of voluntary poverty, serving and identifying with the poor of society. He volunteered to nurse those whom others avoided, such as people with leprosy and pneumonic plague. Committed to passive resistance, he consistently displayed humility in his interactions with others. Ironically, Gandhi had been attracted to the life of Jesus, but he rejected Christianity because Christians did not live like the Christ of the Bible.
Christians have been called to servanthood. Although Gandhi was not a Christian, he modeled servant leadership by serving others and putting their needs before his own needs.
Questions for Discussion: What made Gandhi’s leadership so powerful? Why was Gandhi able to model servant leadership? How does servant leadership draw attention to the cause that the individual is representing?
STEP 2—Explore
Just for Teachers: Every aspect of the church’s authority structure offers an opportunity for a countercultural demonstration of love, humility, and faithfulness that fosters the unity of the church. Emphasize the importance of both the headship and servanthood of Christ in understanding the role of leaders in the church.
Bible Commentary
I. Authority Structures (Review Ephesians 5:23–27 and Matthew 20:25–28 with your class.)
The church is God’s creation and possession with Christ as its Living Head. It exists as God’s representative on earth with a specific mission to demonstrate the character of God. Jesus’ prayer in John 17 indicates that unity between the believers contributes to the success of the church’s mission (John 17:20–23). Crucial to both the unity and mission of the church is the headship of Christ. As Head of the body (Col. 1:18), Jesus provides both the identity for the church and the Source of its life. We are therefore dependent upon Him for our existence and progress as a church. The image of the church as a body also reminds us that the Head directs and governs the church. Without the Head, the other parts of the body cannot function together. It is the Head that unites and coordinates the action of the body to accomplish its mission.
Nevertheless, Christ has delegated some of His authority to the church, which functions more efficiently when there are human leaders. Ellen G. White argued that “gospel order” within the church was “indispensably necessary in order to bring the church into the unity of the faith.”—Early Writings, p. 100. She initially voiced her opinions at a critical time in Adventist history when there was little organization within the movement. The church existed in largely unconnected congregational groups that lacked even the most basic authority structure. This posed a problem for the unity and mission of the church. Of particular concern was the vulnerability of the church to false teaching because of teachers who pushed peculiar and personal agendas. A call to gospel order was therefore necessary to protect the unity of the church.
Care must be taken, however, to understand the role that leaders play in the church. They are called to a countercultural model of authority that embraces servanthood rather than domination. Although it is not always evident in the English translations of the Bible, Paul and other New Testament writers carefully avoided describing the role of church leaders in the Greek terms commonly used to describe the function of those leading in secular roles. Furthermore, the disciples were advised specifically that they were not to lord it over others like the Gentiles (Matt. 20:25–28).
The servant model of leadership contributes to the harmony and unity of the church precisely because it is humble, unselfish, and empowering of others. Servant leaders set the tone by listening and serving rather than by demanding their own ways. Their focus is the mission of the church and not their own glory (see 1 Pet. 5:2, 3). Church leaders also contribute to the unity of the church by remaining in connection with Christ, maintaining the truth that unites us, and modeling the values of healthy relationships.
Second Timothy 2:15 also suggests that leaders need to be genuine and correct in both their teachings and in their conduct. They must hold firmly and faithfully to the truth, but, at the same time, act in accordance with the gospel they preach. True servanthood arises from an authentic relationship with God, which is informed by the truth of the gospel.
Consider This: In what ways is the headship of Christ visible in the Seventh-day Adventist Church? What does Christ’s headship imply about the role of human leaders? How does servant leadership promote the mission of the church?
II. Discipline and Unity (Review Galatians 6:1, 2 and Matthew 18:15–20 with your class.)
Even with the best servant leadership, there are still times in church life in which discipline is needed for the sake of the individual or the church. While church discipline seems to have become less popular in the twenty-first century, it nevertheless plays an important role in maintaining the unity of the church. In his book Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the Name of Jesus (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2012), Jonathan Leeman identifies four ways in which church discipline is a loving response that protects the unity of the church while advancing its mission. First, church discipline shows love for the individual by helping him or her recognize wrongdoing and with it the need for repentance. Church discipline is redemptive in nature and not simply punitive. Second, church discipline shows a love for the church because it aims to protect from harm and temptation those who might be new or weak in the faith. Third, church discipline shows love for the world beyond the church walls by allowing the church to project a witness that more accurately displays the transforming power of the gospel. Finally, church discipline shows love for Christ through both obedience and the safeguarding of His reputation.
Consider This: When is discipline needed? Why do you think that some churches are reticent to practice church discipline? Do you agree with Jonathan Leeman’s suggestion that discipline is a loving response that protects the name of Jesus? Why, or why not? In what ways do you see church discipline impacting the mission of the church?
STEP 3—Apply
Just for Teachers: The application questions allow for teachers to focus on one of two areas: either (1) servant leadership or (2) the connection between church discipline and love.
Application Questions:
STEP 4—Create
Just for Teachers: It is easy to limit our consideration of servant leadership to those in appointed offices of the church, but all members of the church are called to use their spiritual gifts to serve the church. Discuss the function of spiritual gifts to build up the church. Help your class understand the need for every member to serve willingly.
Activities: Listen to a selection of songs about serving others and reflect on their words. Then consider how you can serve both your church and your community in a practical way. There are many Christian songs dealing with the topic of service, especially as it relates to the world beyond the church. If you are stuck for ideas, consider songs such as “O Jesus, I Have Promised,” “Make Me a Servant,” “Do Something,” “Legacy,” or “If We Are the Body.”