Category: correction

If You See Something, Say Something

Landon Bryant

Most of us have probably heard this phrase at one time or another in our life’s journey. This slogan was originally coined by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NY MTA) in response to the 9/11 attacks. Later, it was adopted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

For many this slogan brings about feelings of patriotism, but for some there isn’t much meaning at all. Regardless of how this phrase rests on your eardrums it does get to the heart of a very key principle in Christianity. 

Responsibility. Each and every Christian has certain responsibilities. Collectively we can call these the base responsibilities of a member. Furthermore if in the course of your Christian walk you enter into a more specific “church role” you will acquire more responsibilities along the way. Teachers, Preachers, Deacons, Elders, etc. all have their own responsibilities to uphold for Christ’s church. 

For an easy illustration, if someone is teaching a Bible class and they stumble in that role, the church collectively has a responsibility to lift up that individual with love, patience, and gentle correction as shown in 2 Timothy 2:24-26:

“A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.” ESV

Or more succinctly in Ephesians 4:15: 

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

Speaking in a broad sense, many of those that make up the Lord’s Church have no problem with the “correction” aspect of these verses, but the “truth in love” bit is infinitely harder for many. I know I myself have certainly been guilty of this.  One of my base responsibilities as a member is to try and make amends with those whom I have been guilty of falling short with. This is referenced in numerous passages, James 5: 16 being only one of many. 

So I ask you now to reflect on what your roles and responsibilities are as a part of the Lord’s church. Are you a Member? Deacon? Preacher? Elder? Teacher?

Have you ever fallen short in your role? Of course you have! None of us is perfect. But go one level deeper. Even if you acknowledge your shortcomings, did you address the matter with whomever you were guilty? Even when you were factually or doctrinally correct, were you leading with love? Maybe you are the party that was wronged. If you are still harboring a grudge, you need to sort that out. It’s not about who apologizes first; it’s about the heart of everyone involved and only you and God know your heart. 

I’m not necessarily calling for us to go digging up every skelton we have in our respective closets, but we should attempt to bury the proverbial hatchets within our day-to-day walk. And if a specific instance has come to mind with this article, I might suggest starting there. The very fact that there are guidelines for gentle correction and rebuke means we should all be open to correction regardless of what role we occupy. 

But, as with many things in life, there is a bright side to this topic. Nowhere in the phrase “If you see something, say something” does that imply it has to be accusatory or complaining. If you see someone serving in their role who lets their light shine brightly, acknowledge that brother or sister. Don’t assume they already know, and don’t assume someone else will tell them. 

Have you ever noticed someone serving silently in the background for year on year and thought to yourself how wonderful their own personal ministry is? Don’t keep those thoughts to yourself. Tell them. Say a prayer for them. Give them a high five. Volunteer to help them out every once in a while. 

Maybe you have been sitting on the sideline pews and you have been toying with the idea of teaching a class, leading a devotional, volunteering to cook a meal, host a get together, etc. We can all use our talents to glorify God in various ways. 

Wherever you find yourself in your Christian walk, reflect on your shortcomings, reflect on your successes, even your middle grounds, in general where can you improve? Have you left anything undone? Is something weighing on you?

In closing, I again ask you very explicitly to recall a time where you fell short in your current role, recall a time where you fulfilled your responsibilities adequately. Romans 3: 23 tells us that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God, so each and everyone of us has something to think about in both a negative and positive light here. Take those reflections and apply them to your walk going forward. 

Confrontation By Encouragement

Gary Pollard

Philippians is a very misunderstood letter. We often go to it for encouraging passages like “rejoice in the lord always” and “I can do all things through Christ”. We usually think of Philippians as being a book about joy because the word does appear several times. But the letter is much deeper than that. It is extremely encouraging, but maybe not for the reasons we often cite.

There are many similarities between Philippians and II Timothy. Paul takes a similar approach to correction in this letter, but it’s focused on two women: Euodia and Syntyche. In Philippians, though, Paul seems to take a far gentler approach. For example, he starts the letter by addressing it to everyone, not just those two women (1.1) — “to all of you in Philippi who are God’s holy people in Christ Jesus, including your elders and special servants.” 

Confrontation is uncomfortable and uncertain. Philippians is a masterful example of confrontation by encouragement and tact. It’s not political and convictionless, but it’s also not aggressive or rude. Even though the letter is primarily addressed to two people, Paul is very gentle in how he corrects them. 

This teaches us two things — one, correction is necessary. It’s often very unpleasant, but critical for the health of the church. Two, it teaches us to be careful when we correct. We’ll need to choose our words carefully, keep our emotions in check, and be mindful of why we’re correcting. Correction has nothing to do with superiority, it has everything to do with preserving a soul. 

This isn’t unique to Christianity — when a part of our body fails, we get medical care. Sometimes that care is invasive and uncomfortable, but we do it for the health of our bodies. Correction within the church is no different. We don’t seek medical care for fun because it’s nearly always unpleasant. We don’t seek confrontation for fun because it’s nearly always unpleasant. 

The theme of Philippians is simple: others above self. This letter is structured pretty simply — Paul gives several examples of people who put others above self. He talked about his own experiences at the beginning of the letter, then uses the examples of Jesus, Timothy, Epaphroditus, and himself again. It might seem strange to us that Paul used himself as a model to follow twice, but it makes sense when we take a closer look. Since he was the one writing the letter, using himself as an example of selflessness twice essentially communicated, “I’m not asking you to do something I’m not already doing.” 

So What?

Tuesday’s Column: Dale Mail

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Dale Pollard

Here’s a quick recap of the bizarre events that unfold in Acts 20:

 

  • Paul preaches past midnight.
  • A young man named Eutychus falls asleep.
  • As a result, he plummets to his death.
  • He is then miraculously brought back to life.

 

 

 

So what?

Each word that was written in Scripture was penned under God’s guidance— for our guidance. This means that even those accounts that might initially strike us as pointless are, in truth, spiritually-pointed.

With this is in mind, let’s briefly examine three life lessons from Eutychus that deliver relevant reminders for the 21st-century Christian.

  1. A lesson on Commonsense: God is with His people. God protects His people, but we still read of a young man who sits where he shouldn’t have. As a result, he tumbles to his death. Unfortunate things can happen to godly people, especially in the absence of commonsense.
  2. A Lesson On Commitment: This account is not a call for preachers to shorten their sermons, or even a warning for members who might be tempted to take a nap in worship. While Eutychus may not be the first guy that comes to mind when we think of a Bible character who demonstrated commitment— he still made it a priority to be with his Christian family. He held on, even though it was clearly past his bedtime. How many of us have stayed away from services simply because we don’t feel like it? How many Christians find themselves struggling to remain focused in a one hour period of worship? There is something to be said for this man’s commitment to Christ— even as the hours ticked by and exhaustion began to take its toll on him.
  3. A Lesson On Correction: Though I would not want to be immortalized in history as the guy who fell out of a window in church, this potential tragedy became a powerful testimony of God’s grace. God does not expect total perfection, but rather our constant correction. When we take a tumble spiritually, what corrections can we implement to avoid the same mistake in the future?

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Proving Someone Wrong

Neal Pollard

I’m not talking about the thing too many people do on social media, where they nitpick others and put in so much effort in the “yeah, but..” game. That is ill-mannered and usually unwelcome. It usually also concerns something amounting to far smaller than a hill of beans. Instead, I refer to something God-directed and involving sin.  

A quick overview of Ephesians lays out a pretty straightforward outline. Chapters one through three lay out what a privilege it is to be a Christian. Chapters four through six speak of how privileged people behave, within the church, with the world, and their relationships, and even with the devil. The “proving wrong” section comes in the second half of the book, dealing with the world. If we isolate ourselves from the world, we cannot hope to be effective. If we allow ourselves to be influenced by the world rather than be an influence on it, we may find ourselves having fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. In Ephesians 5:6-14, Paul issues a difficult challenge for us as we live before and within the world on a daily basis. How do we reprove the unfruitful works of darkness?

KNOW THE DIFFERENCE (6). Paul starts this paragraph, saying, “Let no one deceive you.” Context shows that the “these things” that drew God’s wrath involved three broad categories of behavior and three specific actions: fornication, impurity, greed, filthiness, silly talk, and coarse jesting. Paul says, in essence, “Don’t be deceived into thinking these things are OK. To promote ignorance in these areas, all we have to do is remain silent about them and never teach about them. Paul’s concern is about Christians being an influence on the culture, and that’s still the need today.  There are still a great many people in the world who think of Christians as those who avoid filthy speech and who have  objective moral standards about sexual matters. The world sees enough conformation; It needs to see transformation; That requires information! 

BE THE DIFFERENCE (8-10, 13-14). Paul is concerned about people functioning in the spiritual dark. He wants them to take the information (knowledge) he’s given them and let it show in their lives. He illustrates this lifestyle with the metaphor of light. Paul uses the word “light” five times in this one paragraph. Light has characteristics (8-9)–goodness, righteousness, and truth. Light is corrective (11-14)–it remedies problems that occur in its absence (blindness, fear, ignorance, etc.). Light makes visible what was invisible before. We live in a world in serious need of correction. The majority, walking in darkness, are on a collision course with spiritual death. We’re in a position to shine light on their path. Our schools, workplaces, communities, ball fields, and national institutions cry out from the darkness for guidance. Some of the best “reproving” (exposing) occurs when we are the Lord’s lights.

MAKE THE DIFFERENCE (7,11-12). This is the most uncomfortable part of this text. Beyond building our knowledge and setting an example, we must do something. We make a difference through abstinence (7,10), not partaking and having no fellowship with evil. Saying no when invited to participate in sin turns an uncomfortable spotlight on us. Being a “new man” (4:22) means a new behavior, which Paul describes in 4:25-32. The world feels judged when we avoid something we know is wrong. We also make a difference through admonition. Reproving (exposing) means to shine the light on something (we’re shining the Light of Christ onto it, 8). 

When doctrinal error is espoused, do we try to engage people (“in love,” 4:15) or do we just sit in silence? When moral filth is peddled and promoted, do we just go along to get along or do we stand up, stand up for Jesus? In chapter 6, Paul tells us that we’re Christian soldiers, which implies a militancy that must exist (11). Twice more, in 6:13-14, he repeats the charge to “stand firm.” Maybe we’ve witnessed people standing firm in a way that was unnecessarily offensive and unloving. That’s wrong!  But that doesn’t give us an excuse to cowardly avoid saying what needs to be said, no matter what it costs us. Nobody likes to be the bad guy, but God commands that we expose sin. 

Paul follows this instruction, saying “Therefore” (15). His words are written for a purpose. The reason for exposing darkness is that God has us here to make a difference. How we do it requires wisdom, but it is “what the will of the Lord is” (17). Let’s be effective representatives of Christ in this dark world. Let’s understand the urgency of our task and make the most of our time!

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Rebuke Requires Relationship

Neal Pollard

  • A child scolded by an austere stranger may get frightened or bullied, but not persuaded or “reached.” A parent, grandparent, a sibling, or good friend will be much more effective.
  • A church member reprimanded by an aloof elder with none of the skill and instincts of a shepherd will get offended, hurt, and angered, but will likely ignore the admonition. A caring, involved elder, even if what he says is difficult and narrow, will prove much more effective. Jesus makes this clear in John 10:5.
  • A preacher who isolates himself from the members, though golden-tongued and 100% right, will cause rankling and roiling rather than remorse and repentance when dealing with sensitive, “hard” subjects. Yet, a man people know cares about them will be given a hearing on even “hot button” matters delivered in loving conviction. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 makes this clear.
  • A brother or sister bringing a criticism or dispensing blunt advice, who has done nothing to establish rapport and relationship with the object of their censure, will have zero impact for good and most likely widen the distance already existent between them. Galatians 6:1-2 implies one who has worn the yoke with the one approached about the trespass.
  • A “Facebook friend” or social media connection, who does a drive-by, verbal “shooting,” devoid of real life connection and bond, is seen as an obnoxious oaf at best and more likely as an impertinent intruder. That forum is not typically going to work for effective exhortation, especially if the dressing-down comes from one who has established no meaningful link. Remember, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6). That’s a real friend; not a virtual one.
  • A neighbor who has taken no time to be a friend or neighborly delivers hollow requests, suggestions, or demands. Without benefit of time and shared experience, this is received as bad manners and bad form. One who takes the time to demonstrate care will be much better heard (cf. Prov. 11:12).
  • A co-worker or schoolmate will be unpersuaded by someone who makes no time for them or takes no time to get to know them but who gets in their business is wasting their time. But, one who proves genuine concern will much more likely get a thoughtful hearing.

It’s just the way we are. We bristle at cold, heartless interference from the seemingly disinterested party. But we are open and receptive to people who take the time to get to know, understand, and care about us. The same thing said the same way will make a big difference, depending on the presence or absence of a relationship. We would do well to strive to build more and better relationships, especially if we desire to help people grow closer to Christ and go to heaven. May we first work on the connection before we attempt the correction.

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