Since 2005 I have been administering and coaching the balanced approach to church health through applying the eight quality characteristics as outlined by the Natural Church Development. However, my personal recent discovery of a new Biblical dimension added to my passion about this objective paradigm to church wellbeing.
In March of 2007 I was on the plane, flying to Russia at the request of the Zaokski Adventist Seminary to teach ministerial students at a bachelor’s level. I had all the theory and presentations ready, yet, I suspected that if I introduced it as a “German empirical research” it may not be well received. I knew I needed a better introduction than logic and research results based on more than forty thousand churches worldwide.
As I prayerfully browsed through my Bible I opened to the list of virtues in the second letter of Apostle Peter, where he explains what would guarantee a church’s effectiveness. Much persuasive research has been done during the last four decades to show the necessity of all eight elements to be present in healthy churches. Yet, these have been known ever since Apostle Peter listed them in his letter: “giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.” (2 Pet. 1:5-7) Peter ends with a categorical statement: “if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacks these things is blind, and cannot see afar off…” (2 Pet. 1:8-9) Furthermore, Peter’s holy boldness asserts that these qualities guarantee “an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 1:11) Wow! What better formula do you need for success and hope? The preceding verse says that if we do these things we will never fail and will prove our election and calling sure.
I was familiar with this list as a “ladder” of virtues, with successive steps to become a loving Christian. For the first time I saw this list not as a progression, but as a comprehensive list of qualities necessary for a balanced Christian life, and thus for a balanced Church. What really caught my attention was the number of spiritual disciplines – eight! It matched the eight quality characteristics outlined by Schwarz in measuring the health of a church. There, in Peter’s letter, I found what I see as the Biblical verification of the church measuring instrument. A detailed article on the Biblical support for NCD tool was published recently in the Ontario Conference Highlights.
To begin with, Peter calls for giving all diligence, making effort, being earnest in accomplishing, promoting, and striving after the purpose. That is a beautiful picture of Empowered Leadership. The Bible speaks of diligence as the main quality of successful leadership. (Proverbs 21:5; 12:24). The Apostle Paul spoke of diligence and enthusiasm as spiritual gifts of leadership (Romans 12:11).
Next Peter introduces the Purpose – evangelism, sharing the Faith, and in doing so, one must add virtue, goodness. Not simply “evangelism,” sterile and disconnected from life, not a prepositional statement of beliefs, but a genuine care for the needs of people, a Need-Oriented Evangelism of offering goodness, a Faith with Virtue. The method Jesus used when He “mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, "Follow Me."(Ellen G. White "Ministry of Healing" p.143).
Doing the good works of evangelism flows from personal giftedness, therefore, knowing one’s giftedness is important. Peter says that we must have knowledge added to goodness of our faith-sharing. When ministry is informed by awareness of God-given gifts it becomes truly effective. Gift-oriented Ministry is an essential requirement for genuine ministry.
The Spiritually gifted life will manifest true Passionate Spirituality, self-control, and submission to the Spirit, where carnal desires and sensual passions are under disciplined control of the Spirit. Patience is the product of spiritual discipline. Patience is used as a defining label of sainthood spirituality when John the Revelator states “here is the patience of the saints (Rev.13:10; 14:12). It is patience that perseveres and collaborates with other believers, making the Body of Christ structurally fit and effective. Functional Structures are the norm for a living Body. It is impossible for a healthy church to be dysfunctional. That would be a contradiction of terms.
Next Peter speaks of godliness, which is just a synonym for a worshipful life. A life of devotion is not formality, but is inspired by the Presence of God. It presents such an Inspiring Worship, where even an unbeliever observing will end up worshiping, by falling on his face and saying “Truly God is among you!” (1st Corinthians 14:24-25)
In addition Peter speaks of brotherly kindness, describing the ideal of Christian fellowship as a community created through Holistic Small Groups, where total care and nurture is provided. The philadelphia “brotherly love” concept is not just random acts of kindness, but the “one-anotherness” principle, where koinonia fellowship supplies total mutual care for individual needs. All this is possible through Loving Relationships, the agape love, which crowns the Christian life (Colossians 3:12).
For apostle Peter this was a common theme. He lists these quality characteristics for a healthy church also in his first letter (1Peter 4: 7-11) naming disciplined spirituality, passionate love, hospitality, gift based ministry, stewardship as leadership, inspiring worship and evangelism.
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