He said, “Pray that I understand the word of God better.”
I usually struggle with what to write about the time that I spend at the food pantry every other Thursday evening. First, I talk to so many people that it’s always difficult to choose which conversation(s) to write about.
Also, I’m not always the only person talking to these people. When we first started serving people who came to the food pantry, I was the only one who roamed through the big room where they were waiting, talking with them, listening to them, and praying for them. But, lately, several of my friends have been joining in the service. Last night, for instance, at one point there were five of us. (Of course, we still didn’t talk to all of the 300+ families who came to the food pantry.)
But, there is one conversation from last night that stood out. I was talking with two older ladies and a man who was about my age. While talking to them, I learned that they lived in a small town about 15-20 miles north of us. When I asked how I could pray for them, the ladies said things that I usually hear: health, family, or employment.
But, the man looked at me and asked, “Pray that I understand the word of God better.”
I prayed for them all, then I sat beside the man and talked to him further. He said that he was interested in getting together to read and study Scripture together. He told me that his father sometimes helps him understand Scripture, but he still struggles with it.
I asked him what version he reads. He told me. I’m not going to mention it here, because I don’t want to get inundated with search hits from well-meaning brothers and sisters telling me that that particular English translation is the only one we should be using. Suffice it to say that this version was translated into English 400 years ago (this year).
I suggested a couple of English translations that are more recent, and more easily understood. We really had a great conversation, and he even gave me his telephone number – which is rare. I often give people my number, but they don’t usually give me their number. (I’m sure there is still an issue of trust there.)
I’m looking forward to talking with this man again soon. I’m praying about how to approach this. I know that he does not gather with a group of believers regularly. I will probably ask one or two other mature brothers and one or two other new brothers to begin meeting with us to study Scripture and encourage one another. There are a couple of fast food restaurants situated in the middle of all of us that might make a good meeting place – at least at the beginning.
So, last night was a really good night. And, the conversation above is just the tip of the iceberg.
They must be angry, right?
Eric from “A Pilgrim’s Progress” has written another excellent article called “It’s Not Because of Bad Church Experiences.”
For those of you who don’t remember, Eric recently left “the pastorate.” He had been a vocational pastor, but stopped a few months ago.
Why did he stop? Why is he now pursing a more simple, organic form of church life?
Well, he must be angry, right? He must have had some bad experiences? The people at his last church treated him poorly, right?
Well, no.
Here is part of what Eric says:
I obviously cannot speak for all those who have departed from the traditional church for a simpler, organic model of church life.  However, I can tell you that our family most emphatically did not leave because of “bad church experiences.”  In our lives Alice and I have been a part of several solid, evangelical, traditional churches.  We’ve had a few negative church experiences here and there, but who hasn’t?  Overall, we were pleased with and didn’t give much thought to the traditional model until a few years ago.
I’ve written at length about why we made the decision to leave the traditional church; I won’t bring all that back up again here.  Let me simply say that we did not leave because of bad experiences.  Rather, we left because of the bible.
My understanding of the church has changed over the last few years also, and like Eric, bad experiences were not the cause. Instead, as I studied Scripture, I saw a disconnect between what was modeled and taught in Scripture and what we call the church today.
Has your understanding of the church changed? Why?
Hanging out with friends
You probably know this already, but we like hanging out with friends. And, for the last week or so, I have been struggling with a bad cold, cough, stuff and haven’t been able to hang out with anyone.
So, now that I’m feeling a little better, we’re planning to spend time with our friends all weekend long.
Tonight, a couple has invited us to their house for dinner. We helped them move into their first house several weeks ago, and we’re looking forward to enjoying their hospitality again!
Then, tomorrow – Saturday, we’ll be spending all afternoon and evening with another friend from out of town. But, I’ll tell you more about that tomorrow.
And, Sunday, we’ll be meeting together with alot of friends in our weekly scheduled church meeting. I wasn’t able to join them last Sunday because of my cold/cough. My friend Jim will lead the teaching time as we continue to study through James. We’ll be in James 4 this Sunday.
So, this will be a weekend spent with friends. It should be great fun and very edifying! Are you spending time with any friends this weekend?
The Next Step
As some of my readers know (and some may not know), when our church meets together, the teaching is a little different than the teaching (preaching?) when most churches meet. What do I mean? Well, typically, our teaching is in the form of a discussion.
Generally, we have an agreed up subject or passage of Scripture. Someone agrees to teach that subject or passage. What that means is that that person facilitates a discussion concerning the subject or passage. The amount of lecture combined with discussion/dialog depends on who is teaching / facilitating our teaching time.
Since more than one person is speaking, the teaching can get very specific. Someone may ask a specific question that affects what the person is facing in life. Another person may make a completely different comment, but just as specific and just as personal to that person or to someone else.
The last time we met as a church, we met around tables. When we do this, along with the teaching I described above, the person leading our teaching also gives us a question or topic to discuss around each table (with 6-10 people at each table). In this way, even more people take part in the teaching, and even more specific and personal questions or applications or problems or comments are considered.
This type of teaching is much more direct and more personal and (I think) more discipling than any other that I’ve ever experienced. But, there may still be something missing. Let me try to explain.
Margaret, my wife, and I were talking about the teaching and our time together. Later, we also talked with another couple who are our close friends. We all agreed that something is missing, and that’s the next step. The next step would be for the teaching to move beyond words and concepts into action.
Let me give you an example. Suppose, for instance, that we’re talking about reaching out to our neighbors, coworkers, family, etc. with the gospel. As we talk about this subject, several people may offer specific examples of opportunities that they’ve had to share the gospel with others. Others, then, would probably share that they know that they need to share the gospel (and they may even have someone specific in mind), but they struggle with doing that. We would probably encourage that person, and even pray for him or her right then.
But, what about the next step? What needs to happen next? Well, someone needs to come alongside that person and help him or her to share the gospel with the other person that God has brought to mind. And, that could happen right away.
Imagine, we’re sitting together as the church (either around tables or in a circle), and someone expresses a struggle with sharing the gospel with a neighbor. We encourage the person and pray for him or her. Then – the next step – someone offers to go with that brother or sister (perhaps at that very moment) to share the gospel with the neighbor. Or, perhaps someone else offers to take the struggling brother or sister along on a trip to the food pantry when the gospel is often shared.
There are so many possibilities, but it means taking the next step – the step away from concept and toward action.
I think this is an important step for us (and any church and all believers) to take. Why? Because discipleship (becoming more mature in Jesus Christ) is not only about concepts. Instead, it’s also about obediently following Jesus Christ throughout our lives.
Have you ever been part of a church meeting when people took the next step, and actually acted to help a brother or sister right away (it doesn’t have to be with evangelism, it could be with anything)? What do you think?
Mid-Week Worship Service
Some of our good friends are moving back to the Atlanta area this weekend. So, this evening the church is gathering together at their house to help pack their moving truck.
We always have a great time on “moving day.” Even though we hate to see some friends moving so far away, we are excited about the new possibilities that God has in store for them, and we are glad to be able to serve them one more time before they move.
Tonight, we get the added joy of packing the truck in the rain. It should be a great time! Plus, there will be pizza! (Yeah, you knew there would be food involved.)
Monday-Saturday Church
Everybody knows about church on Sunday. But what about Monday-Saturday?
Josh at “Called to Rebuild” has written an excellent article called “Church Life: More than a Meeting.” Josh says:
A person may go to a meeting once a week, and it might be the best meeting this world has ever seen-full of life, love, and warm-hearted fellowship. But if that meeting alone represents the full extent of their participation in the local Body of Christ than they are still missing out on the majority of real church life. I’ve experienced the difference myself, and there really is no comparison. The writer to the Hebrews didn’t instruct the believers there to exhort one another “daily†for no reason, you know. Daily fellowship is not just a privilege but a necessity if we ever hope to go on unto the fullness of Christ.
Yep. Just last night I was talking with some new friends. I told them that if they wanted to understand who were are as a church, they would need to hang out with us during the week. For example, tonight we plan to help some friends pack their truck as they prepare to move to Georgia. Church life!
This reminds me of something I read a few years ago (perhaps from Jonathan?): If there is no life outside the meeting, there will be no life in the meeting. (Or something like that.)
Disregard 1 Corinthians 11-14?
Frank at “Reimagining Church” has published a letter from Jon Zens to Jim Belcher, author of Deep Church, in a post called “An Analysis of Jim Belcher’s Deep Church.”
Much of the analysis focuses on the manner that churches meet together. For example, Jon writes:
You assert, “Since the Bible does not give us enough information to construct a worship service, we must fill in the blanks†(p.137).  Why do we feel compelled to find a “worship serviceâ€?  There is no evidence that the early church had “worship services,†as we conceive of them.  The largest insight we have about a Christian gathering appears in 1 Cor.14.  We have these glimpses because Paul was correcting a problem.  In this passage we see (1) the whole ekklesia gathered; (2) an open meeting where everyone was potentially involved in prophecy; (3) that what was spoken had to be understood by all; (4) multiple expressions from many, “each of you has…â€; (5) no mention of a sermon by one person; (6) no pulpit; (7) no leaders.  You mention “the people up front†(p.139), but in the 1 Cor.14 meeting there is no “front,†as they met in homes with simplicity as a family.  Indeed, while the NT does not give a lot of information about believers’ gatherings, my question is: Why have our traditions essentially jettisoned what light we do have from 1 Cor.14 and other passages?
Later he writes:
Again I must ask, is it hermeneutically responsible to disregard the weight of 1 Cor.11-14 and fill in the blanks with practices that fly in the face of what is revealed?
There is much about meeting together that Scripture does NOT tell us. However, Scripture does tell us some things about how the early churches met together, and how Paul specifically instructed some early churches to meet together. Thus, we have a kind of path to follow.
Why would we want to stray from that path? Why would we want to disregard 1 Corinthians 11-14 and other passages that describe some aspects of church gatherings?
I’ve read many books and articles in which the authors defend modern church practices. But, I’ve never seen this question answered.
Sincere love makes the greatest difference
My friend Danny (from “learning…“) met with us for just over a year. Then, a couple of weeks ago, he moved to Williamsburg, VA. In his post, “A Wonderful Body of Believers,” he talks about the time that he spent with us. I can’t think of a better compliment that what Danny says:
During my time at SEBTS there have been many who have befriended me over the years and blessed me in some way. As an encouragement to you I would like to share about some of them and what they did for me . These people did things that are not in some method book for discipleship, community, fellowship, or teaching. They were just simply being themselves in the Lord and reached out to me for the bottom of their heart through the gifts the Holy Spirit has given them and used the World’s Goods that God gave them. It is this sincere love for God and people that makes the greatest difference. It is when they were like Christ to me that they ministered the most to me.
Here is a picture of many of the people who gather as Messiah Baptist Church. They have reached out to me as a brother and a son, taken me into their homes, fed me, encouraged me, fixed my car, helped me move, talked about (walked with) Jesus and the Bible, talked philosophy, showed me how to love others, even let me use my gifts in the Lord to encourage, teach and comfort them, and much much more. With out neglecting structure at the proper times all this was mostly spontaneous.
I would like to say more but our (and “Messiah Baptist’sâ€) real boast is in the Lord, Jesus Christ. It is he that began a good work in us and will complete it. It is he that is working though us to love, to teach, to understand, to spread the good news and build the Kingdom of God: His kingdom.
I pray that we will treat everyone that God brings into our lives that way that Danny felt we treated him… to God’s glory and for the advancement of his Kingdom! I can also tell you that Danny was a huge encouragement to all of us!
By the way, Danny includes a picture of some of the people that we meet with in his blog post.
Finding Community
I get alot of emails because of this blog. In the majority of the emails, the authors ask some form of this question: “How do I find community like you describe?”
I often describe the life that we share with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The life that we share today – the community – is different than anything that I’ve ever been part of. And, according to the emails that I get, it’s different from what many people experience as part of churches today.
We’ve been sharing life together with some people for more than five years now… and we’re still learning what it means to be family. We’re still learning what it means to relate to one another as brothers and sisters with God as our father.
But, we had a benefit. We were part of a church that moved from being event-centered and program-centered to being people-centered and relationship-centered. We had the benefit of working through the changes together. It took time and grace and tears and hope and failure and victory… it took big things and small things… and alot of food.
Many of our friends have moved, and when they move, they often struggle with finding community. Even though they have been part of a close relational group (and perhaps partly because they have been part of a close group), they struggle finding believers interested in sharing their lives in a similar way.
So, I’m asking you for help. What would you say to someone who is moving to a new location (or perhaps is in a location with few – or no – close friends)? What encouragement would you give them for building close relationships with other believers? How would you help them find community?
Our Latest Church Tradition
Tomorrow, we’re taking part in our latest church tradition: going to the beach together. We’ve been to the beach together four or five times (I think). We go to Wrightsville Beach, NC and hang out under one of the piers.
Since Margaret is still recovering from her surgery, she won’t be going to the beach. I’m fighting a head cold, but hopefully I’ll be able to take Jeremy and Miranda.
If you’re in the area, or just want to take a trip to the beach, join us for sun and surf, volleyball, food, and alot of good conversation. We may even take a trip to my favorite restaurant, Sticky Fingers, on the way home.