Podcast Summary: The Church of Eleven22

Episode: How to Help One Another – 1 Timothy – Week 8

Date: February 23, 2025 | Host: The Church of Eleven22 (Pastor Joby Martin)

Overview

This episode centers on 1 Timothy 5 and the biblical call to help those in need, with particular focus on caring for widows. Pastor Joby uses Paul’s instructions to Timothy to highlight the importance of the church family, the responsibility individuals carry to their relatives, and how the church is organized to meet both spiritual and practical needs. The message is rich with humor, honesty, and practical application, encouraging listeners to see the church as a family—not a hotel or service provider—and challenging each person to serve, give, and care as part of God's design.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Church as Family, Not Institution

• Lynn Northup’s Legacy: Pastor Joby begins by honoring Lynn Northup, framing the message around the real-life example of the church acting as family (00:02).
• Emphasizes that the church is not "just nonprofit" but "the family of God" (03:00).
• "We are in this thing together y'all. This thing is a family." (31:11)

2. Context for Paul’s Letter to Timothy

• Historical Setting:
  The Roman/Hebrew world was structured by hierarchy, power, and class. The gospel radically challenged these norms, proclaiming unity and equality in Christ (08:15).
• Church Problems are Ancient:
  Early churches, filled with new believers, struggled with issues—just as churches do today.
• Equality in Christ:
  "There is neither male nor female, Greek nor Jew, slave nor free." (12:40)

3. Respect, Encouragement, and Order in the Family of God

• "Do Not Rebuke an Older Man":
  Paul instructs Timothy about respectful relationships in the church and models this in his own leadership structure (20:50).
• Power of Words:
  Encourages the congregation to use words to build up, not tear down:
  "In the tongue is the power of life and death." (24:25)
  "Let us be people of encouragement." (26:28)
• Gender and Family Roles in Ministry:
  • Adult women in the church should be seen as mothers, whether or not they have biological children (33:00).
  • Men and women relate to each other as siblings, emphasizing purity (36:18).

4. Practical Caring: How to Help Widows (and Others)

• Qualification for Church Support:
  Paul gives specific criteria for who is "truly a widow" (49:00), focusing church resources on those with genuine need.
• Family First:
  Children and grandchildren should take primary responsibility for their parents/grandparents (52:10).
  • Quote: "It is the fifth commandment to honor and respect your father and mother." (54:00)
• Value and Honor for Seniors:
  Special mention of assisted living and nursing home participants—“You are not forgotten; you are a part of the family and we are standing on your faithfulness.” (57:05)
• Vulnerable to Abuse:
  Paul, and Pastor Joby, note some may try to "work the system," echoing that even in the early church, not every need was genuine (50:08).
• On Men Providing:
  "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (1:04:25)

5. Helping Beyond Widows: Church Structure and Strategy

• Partner Organizations:
  The Church of Eleven22 partners with a diverse array of ministries to meet various needs, both locally and globally, rather than attempting to do it all themselves (1:09:00).
• Financial Transparency and Growth:
  The 1010 Life campaign exceeded its giving goals, enabling support of many organizations and causes (1:12:30).

6. Controversial and Countercultural Instructions

• Role of Young Women:
  Paul’s counsel that younger widows should remarry and focus on family is presented directly but compassionately, with Pastor Joby acknowledging its challenge in today’s culture (1:18:31).
  • “You have been sold a bill of goods by this world. The most important thing in your life will never be your career.”
• Primary Role of the Church:
  The church’s first priority is the glory of God through the Great Commission, not simply helping people. Helping is the fruit, not the root (1:23:12).

7. Personal Application: Are You Family or a Guest?

• Hotel vs. Home Analogy:
  Challenges listeners—do you treat church as a place to receive services (like a hotel) or as a home where you invest, serve, and help clean up the mess (45:35)?
• “The mess is you…When God cleans you up, then you get on the cleanup crew.”
• Practical Next Steps:
  • Get in a disciple group—“primary frontline care” (1:28:55)
  • Serve on CARE team or other ministries (1:33:05)
  • Use your hard experiences to help others.
  • Give generously, sign up to serve, and most importantly, pray for others.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Let us be people of encouragement. That’s what he’s saying. My Bible says, outdo one another with honor.”
— Pastor Joby Martin (26:28)

“Respect is earned. Honor is given. You can honor people who were your parents… Saying thank you helps.”
— Pastor Joby (1:06:50)

“If anyone does not provide for his relatives…he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
— 1 Timothy 5:8, discussed by Pastor Joby (1:04:25)

“You have been sold a bill of goods by this world. The most important thing in your life will never be your career. Ever, ever, ever.”
— Pastor Joby (1:18:50)

“The primary role of the church is not to help people. That’s what Paul says. The church is primarily here to bring glory to God through the Great Commission…”
— Pastor Joby (1:23:12)

“The mess is you. And when God cleans you up, then you get on the cleanup crew…”
— Pastor Joby (45:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:02 – 03:40: Introduction, honoring Lynn Northup, setting up the theme of church as family
• 08:15 – 12:40: Historical context—The radical nature of the early church
• 20:50 – 31:11: Instructions for respect and encouragement, intergenerational relationships
• 33:00 – 36:18: Roles of women, the church as a family, purity instructions
• 45:35 – 49:00: Hotel vs. home analogy, self-examination of one’s role in the church
• 49:00 – 57:05: How the church cared for widows, qualifications for help, honoring seniors
• 1:04:25 – 1:06:50: On providing for family, honor versus respect
• 1:09:00 – 1:12:30: Partnerships and how the church addresses needs beyond its expertise
• 1:18:31 – 1:23:12: Paul’s counsel to younger women, the church’s primary purpose
• 1:28:55 – 1:33:05: CARE team ministry, next steps for meeting needs and serving

Conclusion: Action Steps

• Are you in need?

  • Join a disciple group—the primary network for care.
  • Use the CARE team (text CARE to 441122).
  • Utilize support like marriage mentors, grief share, etc.

• How are you helping others?

  • Serve (church, community, world).
  • Give (abundant generosity enables ministry).
  • Pray (individual and corporate prayer transforms lives).
  • Share your experiences—let God use your trials to encourage and guide others.

• Final Encouragement:
  See the church as your family. Invest, serve, love, encourage, and walk alongside one another—just as Christ modeled for us.