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?
Looking for Ekklesia in Southern Maine
Dan, a good friend of mine, lives in Southern Maine – the greater Portland, Maine area. He and his wife are looking for a more relational (organic) expression of the church and for other believers who are interested in relating to one another outside of traditional church structures.
Dan recently started a blog called ‘The Ekklesia in Southern Maine.” He hopes this blog will help him work through his understanding of the church (“ekklesia”) and to connect with other believers in Southern Maine.
Jump over to Dan’s blog and offer some encouragement to him. Plus, if you know someone living in the Portland, Maine area, send them to Dan’s blog too.
(By the way, Dan’s wife Stephanie blogs at “Dead and Domestic.”)
Blogging I Love
I love blogging. I know, that comes as a surprise to you. But, it’s true.
However, there is a type of blogging that I love more than most. What kind of blogging is that? It’s when a blogger reads another blogger’s post, and then responds with his or her own thoughts. Then, it gets even better when another blogger picks up the topic and continues the discussion.
I’ve seen this happen a couple of times recently, and I wanted to point it out. Here are two “threads” that I’ve been fortunate to be a part of recently:
Elders
“Thinking About Elders” by me
“Also thinking about elders” by Arthur
Church as Family
“It Doesn’t Take a Village… It Takes a Family” by Eric
“All in the Family” by me
“Family Matters” by Danny
A couple of years ago, I started a “chain blog” on the concept of “city church” that was designed to encourage just this sort of interaction. Perhaps I should start another “chain blog”. (Read this post for more information about “Chain Blogging.”)
What topics would you like to see several bloggers write about and discuss?
All in the Family
Last week, my friend Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” wrote a very good post last week called “It Doesn’t Take a Village… It Takes a Family.” Eric was responding to Hillary Clinton’s statement that it takes a village to raise a child. Instead, Eric said that it actually takes a family – specifically, a church, which is the family of God.
In his post, Eric talks about the church as family. He says:
The church should be a family. Because of this, everyone in the family ought to know everyone else. They should be familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses, interests, talents, hopes, struggles, etc. In this setting, adults have a tremendous opportunity to positively influence children. This happens through both word and deed. Parents may be wise, but they don’t hold all the wisdom in the world. They need help and can benefit a great deal from the wisdom of their brothers and sisters in Christ. An encouraging and/or challenging word from an adult can edify a child a great deal.
Unfortunately, for many groups of believers, they are family in name only. They call each other brother and sister, but usually live separate lives, only seeing one another during official church meetings.
Over the last few years, we have tried to learn to live as family. True, we are not biological family. But, there are times when our relationship with on another (because of our mutual relationship with God as Father) makes us closer than biological family. We have learned and continue to learn how to share our lives with one another, both in big things and in small things.
I was able to witness a small part of this last weekend when one of my young brothers turned thirteen. His birthday party including people his age, people younger than him, and (predominantly) people older than him. We talked about how it takes the entire family – both biological and also spiritual – to raise a young man as a disciple of Christ. (By the way, the picture today is from his party.)
As a father to two children, this means that I must not only allow but also encourage my children to build deep spiritual relationships with other mature followers of Jesus Christ. I should also encourage other believers to develop relationships with my children.
Regardless of how good of a father I am, my children need more than me. Regardless of how good Margaret and I are as parents, our children need more than us. They need familial relationships with their brothers and sisters in Christ. They need relationships with more mature followers of Jesus who can help them in their walk. They also need relationships with less mature believers who they can help in their walk.
Eric is right. It doesn’t take a village to raise a child. It takes God’s family to raise a disciple.
Serving when not spiritually gifted
(I am interrupting my translation of Ruth for the next few weeks. I’ll return to the translation after I return from Ethiopia.)
A couple of days ago, I wrote a post called “Exclusivity of Spiritual Gifts.” In that post, I suggested that there is a difference between a certain function and the spiritual gift related to that function. Thus, someone who is NOT gifted in a certain way could still function in that same way. Although, those gifted in a certain way would probably function in that way more consistently or regularly.
In response, Mark said the following in a comment:
I believe the Lord is currently using me as a “sent oneâ€, to do a specific task in my community, but I don’t believe that I am an apostle.
I asked if he would explain what he meant, and he left a longer comment. I thought Mark’s comment was too good to leave in the comments:
As an answer to your question let me preface by saying the following. I strongly believe that the Spirit is moving to build a true expression of the Body of Christ on the earth, something that hasn’t had consistent visibility for a long time. There just seems to be such a great “calling outâ€. Having said that, I believe that the work he has me doing “as an apostle†is along those lines.
My wife and I own two businesses in our town, she a coffee shop/scrapbook store/bridal registry/catering business, etc., and me a family medicine clinic. Her business has been open 3 years, mine 2 years. We strongly feel like these business are the work of the Lord in our community, as the opportunity to touch others’ lives is tremendous. In the last year He has begun knitting us together with some individuals who have begun walking outside of traditional Christianity. In the last year the group has gone from being just a “bible study†among friends, that would meet sometimes and sometimes not, into a fledgling community, where we understand more and more what we are and who we are, and can identify that there is more going on here than just a “bible studyâ€. Now, to answer your question. I feel that I am here plowing ground, hard, crusted ground. I feel that we have been sent here for a specific task, to do the groundwork for the ultimate work that He wants to do. As such, I feel like we are “sent onesâ€, as I believe He had this specific task in mind for us, and uniquely prepared us for it. Beyond the manner in which we are currently functioning, I don’t see myself as an apostle, as I stated in my post. I believe I will be in this community for many years, and serve within this local body until much later in life, if not until He takes me.
I hope this is an adequate explanation.
And, I hope that you enjoyed Mark’s explanation as much as I did.
(To Mark: Thank you for allowing me to post this comment. I didn’t have a link to your blog or website, but if you send it to me, or leave it in the comments, I’ll be glad to add it to this post.)
A Balanced Meal
According to dietitians and nutritionists, a balanced meal consists of a mix of meats, vegetables, fruit, grains, and dairy. They may disagree on the exact mix that makes up a balanced meal, but they generally agree that a person should consume something for all of the different groups. Now, we know that vegetarians don’t eat meat, but they replace the proteins in others ways.
Naturally, a person may eat more of one group at one meal, and more of another food group at another meal. That would be okay, as long as the total is generally balanced.
If a person does not eat from each of the food groups, then the person will not receive all of the nutrients necessary for healthy living.
For example, if a person decided to only eat grains, that person would miss some of the nutrients needed for growth and health. The same if the person only ate meat or vegetables. A mix is important.
Then, there are the foods that have zero (or even negative) nutritional value. When these foods or drinks are consumed, they do not help the person’s growth or health, even though the act of consuming may be similar and even though the calories in the food may make the person feel that he or she is getting something.
I think the church today is alot like people who are eating an imbalanced diet and are often filling themselves with foods that have zero nutritional value. In fact, I think it is all of our responsibility to recognize what a brother or sister is “eating” (consuming) and to suggest a more balanced meal.
In fact, according to Scripture, it is only when the entire church serves their own food group to one another that the church partakes of a balanced meal. This is when the church grows and is healthy (edified).
However, today, it seems that people are not as interested in the nutritional items mentioned in Scripture, and prefer activities and items not mentioned in Scripture that probably have zero nutritional value.
What do you think? Is the modern church partaking in a unbalanced meal?
Does Jesus still send us out “Luke 10” style?
I recently wrote about getting together with some of my brothers in Christ… no, not last Sunday (“Gathering with the Church“), but last Friday (“Missionary Me and Missionary You“). I didn’t give many details about our discussion, but I was hoping that a couple of guys who were there would write about it.
And, now, Danny (who was there) who blogs at “learning…” wrote about our get together Friday night in a post called “Guy Day #2 (Missions/Church Planting).”
It was a very encouraging time, mainly because it was interesting to see several people talking about the same issue from their own perspective. It was obvious that many of us have been thinking about this.
So, read Danny’s post, and let him know what you think.
What if we didn’t invite them to church?
Okay… so, suppose that you meet someone. For whatever reason, this person is interested in your faith in Jesus Christ. Over the course of some time, the person decides that he or she also wants to follow Jesus Christ.
What next?
Modern wisdom says, “Invite them to your church.”
But, what if you didn’t invite them to church?
What if, instead, you continued meeting with the person, and helped that person learn to disciple others… building a new community of believers… perhaps around the new believer’s neighborhood, or workplace, or school, or whatever.
What if you also taught that new follower of Jesus Christ how to disciple others toward forming their own groups of believers?
This sounds normal to most “missionary” contexts, but it sounds weird in my context. Why?
The Church: God’s Children and God’s Family
This week, I’m publishing a few posts on “The Church” which explain the basis of my ecclesiology. In the first post, I said that our understanding of the church must begin with God. (see “The Church: It All Begins with God“)
In particular, I would say that the church is a result of God’s re-creative work, but not a direct result. What do I mean?
The direct result of God’s re-creative work are people who can now rightly relate to God because they have been justified by God and have been indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Thus, the direct result of God’s re-creative work (as was the direct result of God’s creative work) is a new mankind (new creatures, if you will).
So, because God chose to re-create people through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we become children of God. I am a child of God (and you are a child of God) as a direct result of God’s re-creative work.
God’s mission becomes our mission because he is our father. God’s love becomes our love because we are his children. We are all God’s family because of our relationship to him. I realize this last statement seems obvious, but the implications are huge. So, I want to spell it out a little more clearly.
We are family together with one another because we are children of the same father. God is our father, and thus, you and I are brother and/or sister. We cannot choose who is part of our family and who is not part of our family. If God has accepted someone, then we (by default) must accept them as well.
So, before we begin to worry about who we gather with, and how we should gather, and who our leaders are, we must understand who we are to God and to one another. This is the second major point in my ecclesiology.
First, it all beings with God. But, second, and closely related to the first point, we are children of God and, therefore, family with one another. That is, we are family with anyone else who is a child of God. Our relationship with God and our relationship with one another is not dependent upon our work, but upon the re-creative work of God.
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.