Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Speaker A: Welcome to among the Lampstands St. Louis Metro podcast, where pastors equip pastors at Metro. Our mission is to connect churches so leaders can be developed and deployed for gospel mission. Because the greatest problem in our city is lostness, and the greatest hope is Christ.
Join us as we talk ministry, leadership and the movement of God among The lampstands in St. Louis.
Foreign.
[00:00:39] Speaker B: I want to thank you for tuning in to among the Lampstands podcast. My name is Chad Hodges. I'm the director of Church Strengthening and pastoral care for St. Louis Metro Baptist association, and I will be your host.
Or maybe let's consider me your tour guide as we walk among the lampstands. And so as we launch this podcast, we have chosen the title among the Lampstands. And for our very first episode, I thought it would be fitting to begin by asking a simple question.
Why that title? Of all the biblical images we could have chosen, why among the lampstands? The answer is found in one of the most compelling visions in scripture, a vision given to the Apostle John while he was exiled on the island of patmos. In Revelation 1, John receives a glimpse of the glorified Christ.
What he sees is not merely a vision of heaven, it's a vision of Christ's relationship to his churches. And at the center of the vision, our lamp stands.
The image reminds us that churches exist to shine the light of Christ in a dark world. And as pastors, we serve as stewards of that mission. So for those of us serving in St. Louis Metro association, the imagery speaks directly to our calling. We minister in a city filled with lostness, brokenness, and spiritual need. Yet scattered across our region are churches lampstands, if you will, bearing witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And so this podcast exists to encourage churches by encouraging those who lead them. It is very much a podcast by Metro pastors for Metro Pastors.
So for this inaugural episode, I want us to explore Revelation 1:3 and try to define what it means to minister among the lampstands. And so, as we begin, let's understand that in this imagery, lampstands represent local churches. In Revelation, chapter 1, verse 20, Jesus makes this statement to John in his as for the mystery of the seven stars that you see in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angel of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
So the symbolism is not left for us to guess. Jesus explicitly tells John the lampstands are churches. Not denominations, not associations, not movements, not organizations, not buildings, but churches.
Real Congregations gathering in real cities, in this case specifically, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.
Each church was unique. Each church had strengths, Each church had weaknesses. Each church faced different challenges, yet all were lampstands. That's encouraging, because Christ does not require uniformity to accomplish his mission. Every church in Metro is different.
Some are large, some are small, some are rural, some are urban, some are long established, and some are just getting started. Yet every gospel preaching congregation is a lampstand entrusted with the light of Christ.
So why the imagery of lampstand in general?
A lampstand doesn't produce light, it holds the light. And so the church is not the source of salvation.
Christ is. The church simply bears witness to Him.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, you are the light of the world. We shine because we reflect his light.
The purpose of every church is not self preservation. It is gospel illumination.
Churches exist to make Christ known.
The next part of the imagery that is important for us to understand is, is that not only are churches lampstands, but Jesus walks among the lampstands.
In Revelation 1:12 and 13, this is what John writes.
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me. And on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man.
One phrase stands out to me in the midst of the lampstands.
So Jesus is not distant, he is not detached. He's not observing from afar. He is among, in the midst of his churches. This is one of the most comforting truths I think a pastor can know.
Many pastors feel isolated. Ministry can be lonely. There are burdens you carry that few people understand.
There are decisions that weigh heavily on your heart.
There are seasons when attendance drops and giving declines and conflict emerges. Discouragement begins to set in. Yet revelation reminds us Christ has not abandoned his church. He walks in the midst of his churches. He knows every congregation. He knows every pastor. He knows every struggle, he knows every prayer. Nothing escapes his attention.
And when Jesus addresses these seven churches, he he repeatedly says, I know.
He says, I know your works. I know your suffering. I know your faithfulness. I know your struggles. He knows pastors. We often feel unseen. But the chief shepherd, Jesus Christ, he sees.
So the success of ministry ultimately does not depend on us.
Christ is present.
Christ is active.
Christ is building his church. We are the under shepherds, serving beneath the great shepherd. The church belongs to Him. The mission belongs to Him. The results belongs to Him.
But something else we have to understand from this passage of Scripture is that Jesus evaluates the lampstands.
I think one of the striking realities of Revelation 2 and 3 is that Jesus doesn't just merely observe his churches, he evaluates them. Every church receives an assessment.
Some receive commendation, some receive correction. Most receive both. For example, the church at Ephesus had strong doctrine, strong discernment, strong perseverance. But what does Jesus say of them? You have abandoned the love you had at first.
So orthodoxy without love is dangerous.
The church at Sardis, they had a reputation for life, but Jesus said, you are dead.
Public reputation does not equal spiritual vitality. The church at Laodicea, they were materially wealthy, but spiritually poor. Jesus says, you're neither hot nor cold. Comfort had produced complacency in their life.
So a question all of us, we need to ask ourselves as pastors, is this. If Jesus wrote a letter to my church today, what would he say?
Would he commend our faithfulness?
Would he challenge our complacency?
Would he expose hidden weakness?
Would he celebrate gospel fruit?
The point is not condemnation. The point is transformation. Jesus corrects because he loves. In Revelation 3, verse 19, Jesus says, those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.
Healthy churches continually evaluate themselves according to Christ's standard. Not attendance, not budgets, not popularity. None of those things alone, but faithfulness. We need to remember lampstands and can shine brightly or be removed. Perhaps the most sobering statement appears in Christ's warning to Ephesus. In Revelation 2, verse 5, he says, if not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent.
Notice what Jesus does not threaten. He does not threaten to remove the building. He does not threaten to remove the budget. He threatens to remove the lampstand.
In other words, a church can continue existing while ceasing to fulfill its mission.
A church may remain active organizationally while no longer shining spiritually. And history confirms that reality.
Many once thriving churches no longer exist.
Many great ministries have disappeared. So the issue is not survival. The issue is faithfulness. The warning is clear.
No church is guaranteed perpetual effectiveness. Every generation must commit itself or recommit itself to gospel mission.
Even small churches can shine brightly.
Consider Philadelphia. They possess little power, the Scriptures tell us, yet Jesus praised them for their faithfulness.
So kingdom effectiveness is not measured by size.
It's measured by obedience.
But it's also important for us to remember that Christ's vision is bigger than just one lampstand. John saw seven lampstands in his vision, not one.
This is significant.
Jesus did not establish isolated churches. He established a kingdom movement. The seven churches represented a network, if you will, of congregations spread across an entire region.
Sound familiar? The St. Louis Metro Baptist association is not one church. It's many churches, different congregations serving in different communities with different ministries, but one mission, one gospel, one Lord, one kingdom, one king. Our association exists because no one church can reach our entire region alone.
The mission field is too large, the lostness is too great, and the needs are too significant.
But together, we can accomplish more than any one church could alone.
This is one reason Metro exists. Our mission is to connect churches so leaders can be developed and deployed for gospel mission. Because lostness is the greatest problem of our city.
And so here at Metro, we strengthen pastors because healthy pastors help lead healthy churches.
We encourage collaboration because kingdom work is bigger than individual ministries.
So what does it mean to minister among the lampstands? For Metro pastors, I think this title becomes a calling. It reminds us of several commitments.
It reminds us that we keep Christ at the center. The focus is not personalities. The focus is Jesus, the one who walks among the lampstands. It reminds us to care about church health, not just church growth, but church health. Healthy churches shine brighter. It reminds us that we need to learn from one another.
The church's revelation faced different challenges.
Pastors. Today here in Metro, we face different challenges.
Yet we're reminded all throughout scripture that wisdom is multiplied. In a group of many, wisdom is multiplied when pastors equip pastors.
It reminds us to pursue kingdom cooperation.
Here in Metro, we want you to know no one pastors alone, no one church will reach this city. Alone, alone. We need each other.
It reminds us to stay mission focused.
As we say, the greatest problem in St. Louis is lostness. The greatest hope is Jesus Christ.
Everything we do must point people to Jesus.
So the vision of revelation is ultimately not about lampstands. It's about Christ. The lampstands matter because Christ walks in the midst of them. He sees, he knows. He cares, he corrects, he strengthens, he sustains. And he promises victory to those who remain faithful.
As Metro pastors, we serve in a strategic moment across St. Louis. There are lampstands shining in neighborhoods, communities and towns. Some are thriving, some are struggling, some are weary, and some are growing. But Christ is among them all.
That's why this podcast to encourage pastors to strengthen churches to foster kingdom cooperation, to help us see where God is at work among the lampstands and ultimately to remind us that the church belongs to Jesus Christ.
May we faithfully shepherd his people, strengthen his churches and join his mission. Until the day the one who walks among the lampstands returns in glory.
So join me each month as we journey among the lampstands together.
[00:14:11] Speaker A: This has been among the lampstands. Let's stay connected, keep developing leaders and keep pursuing the mission. Because lostness is the greatest problem in our city and the greatest hope is Christmas.
