Lateral Ministries: Following Jesus Beside You

“In matters of faith, unity. In matters of opinion, liberty. In all things, charity.” The saying is attributed to John Wesley, though many have used it widely, including many among the churches of Christ. In Wesley’s time, “charity” was synonymous with “love,” while today, charity has a more limited meaning. Nowadays, we would say,  “In matters of faith, unity. In matters of opinion, liberty. In all things, love.” I’ve heard it from pulpits and in classrooms all my life as representative of the spirit of unity the churches of Christ were intended by our forefathers and our Lord to exemplify. Sadly, we haven’t lived up to the ideal very well. Often, we struggle between the two equally essential aims of maintaining doctrinal purity and being diligent to preserve Christian unity. Neither aim is optional. The Lord requires both. He never said this would be easy.  While the quote isn’t directly from the wording of Scripture, it is a Scriptural ideal. 2 John 9–11 teaches that there ...

Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy’” (ESV). The International Children’s Bible words it this way: “The everlasting God is your place of safety. His arms will hold you up forever. He will force your enemy out ahead of you. He will say, ‘Destroy the enemy!’” These are comforting words to spiritual warriors. King Jesus has defeated the enemy and exposed him to open shame. He has triumphed over death, freeing us from it. Nothing and no one can defeat our King! Not even the church’s failures can keep Jesus from accomplishing all the aims of His reign. He will return and judge the whole world. We’re free to fight fearlessly. We will be victorious in the end. But we can delay the victory. The church has a mission to fulfill, and no Bible passage states it so completely and succinctly as Matthew 28:19–20:  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing...

2 Corinthians 10:1–6 is a super important New Testament passage in which the apostle Paul teaches about spiritual warfare, especially its ultimate aim. I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!—I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. (ESV) The Holy Spirit teaches us four truths in this great text: 1. Spiritual warfare is "not according to the flesh," which means it...

Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman is credited as originating the phrase, “War is hell.” Considering what he unleashed on even civilian southerners in the American Civil War, slave and free alike, I suppose he would know. From what I can tell, war certainly is a hellish affair. Glory in battle is possible even in the worst of circumstances. I believe disrespecting sacrificial war heroes is deplorably dishonorable. But war is mostly inglorious, ugly, mean, immoral, and unfair. The people hurt the worst by it are almost always the innocents, including children. Warmongers ought to be reminded of the words of Christ, “All who live by the sword will die by the sword.” In the Year of Our Lord 2024, there are concerning wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and widespread concern that more wars, possibly even World War III, or even nuclear war, could break out at any time. Let’s pray it does not (1 Tim. 2:1–2). The globe has been wrapped up in the so-called Culture War for dec...