Are You in Need of Mutual Encouragement?

I’ve never been a fan of the “spiritual gift surveys” that seem to come and go in popularity in lots of church settings. Answer this slew of questions by filling in dots on the page, and when you peel back the front page, you have an instant diagram telling what your spiritual strengths are. If only Paul had known how simple it can be!

I don’t think discovering my giftedness is quite so simple. But, more importantly, I can’t find a single place in Paul’s literature – the place where we discover four lists of “spiritual gifts” – where he thought he had provided a comprehensive list of spiritual gifts. The four places where he lists such gifts are Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 (a list at the beginning and a list at the end of the chapter), and Ephesians 4. Ephesians is likely the last of those three epistles to be written. I have searched and searched, but I continue to come up empty in looking for a place where Paul says, after writing Ephesians 4, “I have finally managed to give the church a list of all the spiritual gifts there are.”

I don’t remember ever seeing such a survey, by the way, where the gift of celibacy, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 7, or the gift of the mutual encouragement of worshipping together, mentioned in Romans 1, are included. But he uses the Greek word charisma in both places, the normal word he uses for our English phrase “spiritual gifts.” They may be included in some surveys, but I’ve never seen one!

This really isn’t a devotional about spiritual gifts – my comments thus far get me to what I want to write about today – mutual encouragement. That’s the charisma of Romans 1:11, 12. Those verses function in the introductory words of Romans to explain, among other ideas, why Paul so desperately “longs” to come to Rome and be with the believers there.

In a beautifully written purpose statement, followed by what we might call an outcome statement, Paul declares himself to have a deep longing to see these believers – in order that he may give (purpose) – that word may be translated with English words like give, share, impart – a spiritual gift to them so that (outcome) they may be strengthened. Who wouldn’t want that spiritual gift?

It is a gift that is readily available – if verse 12 is correct – but one too easy to ignore. Were I to translate verse 12 in a way that I think reflects the nuanced meaning of the text, it might read something like, “that is – I’m going to define the spiritual gift I’m wanting to impart – the mutual encouragement of each other’s faith, both your faith and my faith.” Take a moment and count: “mutual,” “each other’s,” “both yours and mine.” I’m not a math major – but I think that is three notes of encouragement available in the body of Christ.

The pandemic certainly has had a negative impact on “going to church.” But we can’t entirely blame the pandemic. Church attendance has been declining for a number of years; the pandemic may have exasperated it, but I don’t think we can say it caused the decline. Is it a coincidence that lots of us have feelings of dread, despair, discouragement, frustration, and lots of other similar emotions these days? Where can we find encouragement?

Apparently, if we are followers of Jesus, we can find it in those places where, to borrow Paul’s language, we “see each other,” and that certainly would include our worship together. But, alas, we are so focused on our individual preferences, expectations, and demands that we can find a dozen excuses to skip church regularly every early, first-day-of-the-week morning. I read of more than a few self-proclaimed Christian leaders who only go to church when they are on the stage. Or scholars who can barely manage to hang out with the normal saints because the commoners just aren’t up to our standards. The old folks – I’m in this category and pray I don’t share this characteristic – can’t manage to hang out with the younger ones; and the younger ones are bored at the presence of the older ones. 

That list could go on and on. And I haven’t even mentioned that our affluence allows us to spend tons of money on entertainment and travel on the Lord’s Day, while barely offering a tip in the Sunday morning offering! 

A recent study by the Pew Research Center says that about 30% of Americans attend church at least once a week. That same study says that for people in the 30-49 age demographic, 71% attend “seldom or never” or “once a month to a few times a year.”

But think about Romans 1:11, 12 for a moment. The person God chose to write nearly half of the New Testament, a man who, by our educational standards, would have had advanced degrees from both secular and theological schools, who was the greatest missionary known to man – that person, Paul, thought his faith would be encouraged by worshipping with the Roman Christians. And the Roman Christians, by the way, were not some collection of super-saints who were oozing Jesus out of every pore. Read chapters 12-15 and find out for yourself.

Three ideas about “church”:  mutual, each other’s, both yours and mine. If Paul could say that about the believers in Rome, surely you and I can say that about our own opportunities for encouragement every Lord’s Day. 

I’ve preached for three different church groups as “the preacher.” Not one of those places was perfect; if for no other reason, they weren’t perfect because of me. I’ve attended a church where one of my best friends in ministry and long-time study partner was the preacher. That church wasn’t perfect, either. Where I attend church now is not perfect. But it is a place where the people of God meet, and if I look for opportunities, words like mutual, each other’s, and yours and mine jump out from all over the place.

I heard an interview with N.T. Wright a few weeks back. Someone asked him, “Do you go to church?” The interviewer followed up with, “I’d hate to be the preacher where you were the listener.” To summarize Wright’s answer, he said that he did go to church every Sunday, at a small church where a few other notable Bible scholars also attend. Then he made it clear that he went to church as a simple follower of Jesus, hoping to hear a word from God. And he usually did.

I doubt that preacher ever says something new to Tom Wright. There are likely things in that church that Bishop Wright, were he still Bishop, would do differently. Who knows, there could be people in that church who get on his nerves.

But . . . he goes. You see, mutual, each other’s, and both yours and mine – well those are the words of charisma.

We need to claim this charisma from God . . . starting this Lord’s Day.

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash