1 Timothy 3:14-15

Warning; joke ahead. After a fancy Christmas dinner for all the pastors on the district, there was a question and answer session. A new pastor on the district stood up and said, “I have never been to such a fancy dinner, and I was nervous. My wife told me to copy everything the district superintendent did. When he sipped his tea with his little pinkie held high, I did the same. When he tucked his napkin under his chin before beginning to eat, I did also. I could understand everything he did but one, so I have to ask, ‘Why are we putting the silverware in our pockets?’” Yes, this really did happen and the crowd cracked up at the look on the superintendent’s face when the new pastor delivered the punch line.

I like the joke, but I also like that it illustrates how in new situations we copy the behavior and attitudes of those who have more experience. A healthy church will have mature Christians leading by example and a history of righteous conduct for new members to follow. However, not every congregation is healthy. The church of Ephesus was sick, and did not have many Christian role models. Just as Paul predicted in Acts, when he left, some of the leaders turned from shepherds into wolves. Paul removed the cancerous influence of Hymenaeus and Alexander, and Timothy stayed and fought to save the church.  Timothy used Paul’s written instructions on how people ought to conduct themselves as part of the body of Christ. “God’s household” means the local church congregations. They were fighting to save their congregations from false teachers and unrighteous lovers of wealth, self and power.

Today, most congregations are healthy, but some are not; they are sick. If we find ourselves attending a sick church, we have a choice to make. We must let the Holy Spirit be our guide. God may want us to fight to fix it, or He may want us to save ourselves by leaving it.