The Church's Methods

On one memorable Sunday morning, a pig was carried into church sanctuary. Adults laughed and children clapped as the pig was carried to the front—and then kissed by the pastor. No, kissing pigs is not a routine part of any Christian worship services! This particular Sunday followed a week of Vacation Bible School, and the pastor had set an attendance goal and promised to kiss a pig if the children met it.

The New Testament does not prescribe many details of church practice. How long should the service be? What should the ratio of music to preaching be like? It says nothing directly about the technology many churches use today.

Today’s text describes the boundaries that shaped Paul’s methodology. His general guiding principle was to shape the ministry to the culture: “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (v. 22). But this principle doesn’t sanction all elements of the culture in ministry. For example, Paul could personally choose to follow customs of the Mosaic Law, but he could not make Mosaic Law binding for others (v. 20). This would be a doctrinal test. Anything that compromised the gospel was out of bounds.

It’s important to understand that Chris-tian freedom has a context. Although Paul was not under the constraints of Jewish law, he was “under Christ’s law” (v. 21). This provides the church with a moral test. Anything that violates God’s explicit commands and moral principles is out of bounds. Scripture guides the church in evaluating its practices. Cultural adaptation might be acceptable, if it does not compromise the gospel or violate God’s commands. In order to make wise decisions, we must know Scripture’s teaching.

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BY Dr. John Koessler

John Koessler is Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology and Church Ministries at Moody Bible Institute. John authors the “Practical Theology” column for Today in the Word of which he is also a contributing writer and theological editor. An award-winning author, John’s newest title is When God is Silent: Let the Bible Teach You to Pray (Kirkdale). Prior to joining the Moody faculty, he served as a pastor of Valley Chapel in Green Valley, Illinois, for nine years. He and his wife, Jane, now enjoy living in a lakeside town in Michigan.