Gathering with the church
Before this past Sunday, I was either sick or out of town for three Sundays in a row. So, I was not able to meet with the church during our normal weekly meeting times. During this last week, however, we were able to get together with our brothers and sisters several time.
On Monday, David Rogers visited with us (see the post “Meeting another new friend“). Several of our friends joined our family and David at our home. This was a very encouraging and challenging time.
Then, on Wednesday, several brothers and sisters came over to our house to share a meal and to sing Christmas carols in our neighborhood (see the post “Caroling in our neighborhood” on our family blog). It was great to share good food as well as to be able to serve our neighbors with some of our friends.
On Sunday morning, we met with the church for our weekly formal meeting. It was good to see alot of people that I haven’t seen in a while. Besides the singing and teaching, two people shared Scripture that was very encouraging to me.
That afternoon, we were able to host several children from nearby government subsidized housing. Once again it was great to share a meal with the children and to play with them, all the while serving them with my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Besides these times of gathering with the church, several times during the week people dropped by the house to say hello. We love the people that God has placed in our lives, and we thank him for the way he loves us through them.
Here are a couple of recent blog posts in which people share about their meetings with the church. I hope these are encouraging to you as well:
Learning to live together
A few months ago, I wrote an article for “Life in the Journey” called “Walking through difficulty… together“. In that post, I primarily was thanking God for the many brothers and sisters that he has placed in our lives, and acknowledging that I need these people in my life to help me walk with God. God places us together to live together, in both the good times and the bad times, to rejoice with one another and to mourn with one another, to encourage and to comfort.
Over the last few weeks especially, we’ve seen more and more friends struggling through life. It seems, in fact, that the number of struggles has increased exponentially over the last few months and years. As I think about these struggles and the seeming increase of struggles, I wonder if the increase is real, or if I simply know about more of the struggles because there are more people who have chosen to share their lives with us.
In reality, I realize that over the last couple of years especially, my family has begun to learn what it means to live together with other people. This means that we are learning not only to bear the other person’s burden, but also to share our own burdens. I think, sometimes, sharing my burdens is more difficult than helping someone else bear their burden. But, both – give and take – is important and necessary as we learn to live in community with one another – with Jesus Christ as the one who creates and maintains our fellowship, with him alone being our common identity.
I said, “My family has begun to learn what it means to live together with other people”. I want to say that we HAVE learned, but that would not be true. This process is ongoing, and since we are not complete yet, we have a long way to go and much more to learn. We are still learning to trust and to be trustworthy, to care and to allow others to care, to speak and to listen, to accept and to be real/authentic, to give grace and to accept grace, and most of all, to hope and to offer hope to others.
Since we are still learning, we are also still making mistakes. And, since our brothers and sisters are not perfect yet either – sorry to burst your bubble – they make mistakes as well. Besides being hurt by life, we hurt one another. Thus, forgiveness must be a huge part of learning to live together. Of course, this includes asking for forgiveness and offering forgiveness. We who have been given much, who have been forgiven greatly, and who have been loved unconditionally give, forgive, and love others in response… imperfectly though.
So, as our friends struggle with sickness, death, relationship problems, financial problems, job issues, emotional stresses, etc. and as our family struggles with the same issues, we learn to live together, in spite of these struggles and through these struggles. We learn to depend upon God as we depend upon one another. We learn that God cares as we see others care. As we give and receive, offer and accept, in strength and in weakness, we learn to live together… living the life of a traveller, yearning for our true home, rejoicing in the fellow travellers that God places in our path.
Meeting another new friend
Monday, we had the opportunity to meet David Rogers who publishes the blog “Love Each Stone“. David and I are not sure when we first “met” one another online, but I know that we have been commenting on one another’s blogs for over a year.
Anyway, David was coming to town for a couple of days, so we had several opportunities to spend time together on Monday. First, David and I had lunch at The Court, which is a small cafe on campus. That night, Margaret and I took him to dinner. After dinner, we took David back to our house where a few friends joined us to talk for a couple of hours.
For those who may have read David’s blog, I want you to know that he is as gracious and kind in person as he is on his blog. Our family and our friends all enjoyed spending time with David, getting to know him better, hearing about what God has been doing in Spain, and listening to some possible plans for the future. David and I have often discussed the church, and especially unity between believers. We’ve agreed more times than we’ve disagreed, but I’ve even enjoyed the interaction when we disagree. He’s always very respectful and thought-provoking.
I’m thinking through several conversations that we had – conversations that will probably lead to blog posts after I have more time to think through them. (If I get these stories wrong, then I hope David or someone who was with us will help me out.)
David told us that in some Spanish towns of 50-100,000 people, there may only be 70 or so followers of Jesus Christ. Whenever these believers meet one another on the street, they are very excited to see one another. This makes me wonder why we do not have the same excitement when we see one another. Is the excitement a work of the Spirit? If so, we have the same Spirit. Is the excitement something other than the Spirit? If so, what is it?
David also mentioned that while they were in Spain, there were two groups of believers who met together regularly. One group was charismatic, including speaking in tongues. The other group was not charismatic – they did not speak in tongues. When they met together, the charismatic group chose not to speak in tongues in deference to the other believers. I think this is a wonderful example of preferring others as more important than ourselves. I think this showed amazing maturity for the charismatic group. I wonder if the believers that I know and meet with regularly would show the same maturity if we met with a group who differed in some ways.
I may discuss these two issues again later. But, for now, I’ll say that my family and our friends are hoping to spend time with David Rogers again. Perhaps we will be able to meet his family this time.
To see a few pictures, visit the post “Meeting another new friend” on our family blog.
Decorations and conversations
Last Christmas (2006) was our first Christmas in our house. Unfortunately, Margaret had ankle surgery the Monday before Thanksgiving, so we did not decorate much for Christmas. This year, Margaret is very excited about finally being able to decorate the house for Christmas.
Saturday, we walked out into the front yard to think through some various decorating ideas: lights, garland, bows, wreaths, etc. After we decided on a course of action and had prioritized our various ideas (we can’t afford everything at once), I noticed that our neighbors across the road were decorating their house. I walked across the road and struck up a conversation.
I have talked with them a couple of times before. Our son and their son were in the same football league this fall, although they were in different age brackets. Also, the wife coached cheerleading, and our daughter is interested in cheerleading next year. So, we started our conversation talking about decorations, and football, and cheerleading.
From there the conversation moved to hometowns, and families, and more children’s sports, and Christmas, and other topics. We talked about carolling for Christmas, and I invited them to join us this week as some friends come over to sing Christmas carols in our neighborhood. (We also found out that someone in our neighborhood is sponsoring a neighborhood-wide carolling this weekend, and our family is planning to take part in that as well.)
Anyway, the conversation did not go much further this time. But, I was very excited about this conversation. First, we have talked to these neighbors a couples of times before, but never for an extended time. This time, I was able to talk to them longer than all of the other times combined. Second, we have been asking God to allow us to get to know our neighbors. Here was a chance that he gave us to get to know them in a way that was fun and interesting to all of us. Third, we were able to make some connections with these neighbors – not in major areas, but in little things. But, we will be able to build on these connections the next time we meet with them.
Meanwhile, in a few days, some of our friends are coming over to help us sing Christmas carols for these neighbors and others. Margaret, the kids, and I have been busy preparing candy and other goodies to give to our neighbors as Christmas gifts when we go carolling. We’re praying that this will be fun, that they will enjoy the singing and the goodies, and that we will have more opportunities to get to know them and to shine the light of Christ into their lives.
Searching for fellowship (Guest Blogger)
I recently received the following email from a reader. I appreciate how this person has shared their struggles and triumphs as they attempt to walk with God. Perhaps you have some words of wisdom or encouragement to share with this “anonymous child of God”, or perhaps you would just like to share your own struggles to find fellowship:
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Hello:
I clicked on your blog link from another website. the verse you have headlining has been one I have been thinking about for a while : And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near. (Heb. 10:24-25 NASB)
Nearly 4 years ago our church – for lack of better words – Blew Up.
In a lot of drama, gossip, rumors, judgement and criticism people became scattered and went their separate ways injured and wounded. There were little “them and us” groups that formed..the mud slinging continued, and people that once claimed to be “family” and love one another became enemies.
Some were just caught in the middle not knowing which end was up. (I think those are the ones my heart aches most for)
The history in a nutshell is that this church was a new church plant about 4 years old. It came into a new area, started in a school gym, the growth exploded, we found a building, and worked very hard trying to get new people in by having lots of events. The church grew quickly and many of the leaders were very new believers. The pastor was working in many ways out of his flesh, though he had a sincere love for the people and for God, in his leadership role, there were times he wounded some. Those he wounded realized that he was not deserving of the pedestal they had placed him on and vowed to destroy him and his family.
As this drama unfolded for the next several years my family had been shunned by many of the people. (you see, the pastor was a family member) So, I can only think that we must in their eyes be guilty by association of the wrong doings they have accused him of.
My best friends walked away from me. People that we used to fellowship with turn from us when we run into them. As a matter of fact, I just ran into a woman last night in the grocery store, when I spoke up and said Hello, she looked up, her face became twisted, she struggled to murmur a quick hello and then looked away…and this is 4 years later…
My whole life I have gone to church on Sunday morning. Though now I realize that it was because that is what I thought I was “supposed to do”.
We have visited a few churches. But nothing feels right. And the thing is, that through this past 4 years, God has been bringing me into a new understanding of his Grace and Mercy. So when I walk into these places and hear legalism be preached, or hear that in my son’s Sunday school class the teacher told him to make sure and bring a dollar next week for the offering…it just turns me off. Not to mention, there is a bit of a fear of people in general after what we have experienced.
My kids ask why we don’t go to church. We have done some “home church” stuff, just here with the kids. But haven’t been consistent. My husband and I have read some books: “The Rest of the Gospel” by Dan Stone, and “Lifetime Guarantee” by Bill Gillam. We both attended a healing retreat that God really met us in. And we have several internet sites that support our growing in grace. And as it applies to our life, we share these understandings with our kids.
But the question for me now is what does not forsaking our own assembling together, mean to me? I do not want to go back to my old ways of thinking and go to a church just because I think we should. But I also feel that we are in this bubble of limited fellowship.
Recently I have been thinking a lot about this passage and what it might mean to me:
Jer 3:13 Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the LORD your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to follow me. I, the LORD, have spoken!
Jer 3:14 “Return home, you wayward children,” says the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will bring you again to the land of Israel–one from here and two from there, from wherever you are scattered.
Jer 3:15 And I will give you leaders after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.”
Jer 3:16 “And when your land is once more filled with people,” says the LORD, “you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the LORD’s covenant. Those days will not be missed or even thought about, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark.
I apologize for this lengthy email. And I am not even sure of my exact purpose for writing to you. But after looking at some of your writings, I thought you might be able to understand our situation and if the Lord leads you, to offer encouragement in Him. Let me also quickly mention that though this past 4 years have been painful and ugly on days, I wouldn’t trade it for the understanding I have gained of who I am in Christ and what His Grace and Mercy means to my life.
Thanks for your time,
(anonymous child of God)
Meeting more friends
On our way home from spending Thanksgiving in Tennessee, we had lunch with the Sensenigs from Boone, NC. You may know Steve from his blog “Theological Musings” and Christy from her blog “Until My Last Breath“. They are also both frequent readers and commenters here. Margaret and I met Steve and Christy last April when they came to Wake Forest for a conference (see my post “Friday and Saturday with Mark and Other Friends“). We enjoyed meeting their son Dillon and catching up with the Sensenigs. Hopefully, we’ll see them again soon. There are pictures at our family blog in a post called “Meeting more friends“.
Meeting new friends
On our way to spend time with family in Tennessee, we were able to have lunch with Dusty Segers and his family. You may remember Dusty from his comments here on my blog, from his posts on the blog “Grace in the Triad“, or from a guest blog post that he did for me called “The Lord’s Supper – Another Example“.
I’ve enjoyed getting to know Dusty through blogging and email, and it was great to finally get to meet him in person. I always enjoy hearing what God is doing in and through other brothers and sisters, and this was certainly no exception. We hope to get together with this family again.
If you would like to see pictures of our lunch, I’ve posted some on our family blog in another post called “Meeting new friends“.
Listening to friends…
I’ve really enjoyed some of the conversations that I’ve had recently. God has taught me alot through a few friends. Some of these conversation have spilled over into the blogosphere, others have been inspired by blog posts, and others have had nothing at all to do with blogging, believe it or not. I can’t mention everyone by name here, since some of the converstaions were private, but I’d like to point out a few public conversations.
I’ve linked to Dan at “hollowagain” before, especially his comics. I’m excited about some of the interaction that Dan has had with unbelievers due to his comics. This week, Dan published several blog posts that are worthy of mention. In his post “if there is no fruit does the tree exist?” Dan discusses the dangers of a hypocritical lifestyle in relationship to evangelism. He says:
but then i thought some more about it. what is the christian message? basically just that through the death of jesus peoples hearts can be changed. dead hearts can become alive hearts. if this is the message then i think that the argument that christians are hypocrites is extremely relevant to the discussion. christians are supposed to be the ones with the living hearts, the good hearts that god changed and god is working inside of. if people claim to have one of those kinds of hearts and then act like jerks one might wonder if that persons heart is really any different. if the majority of people you run into who call themselves christians are the same way (jerks) then you might start wondering if this whole changing peoples hearts thing is even real at all.
i guess this all might mean that sharing the gospel is more than just telling people some story. if a hypocritical lifestyle shows that jesus might not be real than an honest lifestyle might show that jesus is real. maybe i shouldnt get mad at lost people anymore and i should start trying to be less of a jerk and a hypocrite.
Dan follows this post with another one called “a perfect failure” where he concludes that the opposite of hypocrisy is not perfection but honesty and authenticity:
it seems like the gospel is all about how we arent perfect and jesus is and how his perfection and love makes it so we can have a relationship with him. maybe it would be better if i started just being more honest with people about who i am and stopped trying to hide my screwed up self by judging and condemning other people for being gay or liberal or prochoice or whatever else makes me feel like im better than them.
Another friend, Drew, from “a beautiful collision“, has been discussing the meeting of the church and disagreeing with the church. In his post “When we disagree” he honestly struggles with questions about staying with a group of believers with whom he disagrees. He says:
I’ve wondered for some time if these disagreements are things that should send me looking for a different group to meet with. Right now, I don’t think so. It seems to me that what Christ desires most from His Church is mutual edification, Kingdom activity, and unity. I can’t see myself leaving and then saying that I have unity with those believers. Yet, I feel as though many of that group would look at me as dishonest/deceptive for staying when we don’t agree about so many things (This applies at the denominational level as well).
I agree with Drew. Unity among believers is extremely important, and it must be built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, not our own particular beliefs about Jesus.
While these conversations may seem separate, they are actually similar. When the church gathers together, and when we strive to build up one another toward maturity, we will not be perfect – none of us. Therefore, we will make mistakes, and we will disagree. If we expect other people to be perfect, then we will be disappointed. If we pretend that we are perfect, then we are hypocrites. If we come together expecting God to work through other believers, even when we disagree with them on certain points, then we will be amazed at what God does. We will find that God can use those with whom we disagree and those who are not perfect to mature us in Christ Jesus.
Perhaps the meeting will not go exactly as we planned, but since we’re not perfect, why do we think our plan is right? Perhaps the people will not say exactly what we would have said, but since we’re not perfect, why do we think that what we would say would be right? We may find that God is present and active in the midst of our imperfection and while maintaining our unity in spire of differences. We may find that God truly is able to use jars of clay.
This kind of meeting takes faith. It takes the faith to trust God to work in spite of us. I’ve been encouraged this week by listening to friends who are not perfect, who do not always say things the way that I would say them, and with whom I do not always agree. But, then, I hope that they have learned from me as well, in spite of the fact that I am not perfect, I do not always say things the way they would say them, and they do not always agree with me.
What is God doing in your life?
The title for this post is a question that I like to use when I’m talking to other believers. Sometimes I ask them, “What is God doing in your life?” Other times I’ve asked, “What has God been saying to you lately?” I’ve discussed this previously about six months ago in another post called “What is God doing in your life?” I find it very encouraging to hear how God is working in the lives of his people.
Many of us can look back and see what God has done in our life. This is important. In fact, throughout the Old Testament we see the prophets reminding God’s people what he had done for them. We should never stop looking back and thanking God for what he has done for us.
But, God is also active today. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that Jesus is living and active. We know that the Holy Spirit dwells within us and is constantly encouraging us on toward maturity in Jesus Christ. He have the Scriptures to show us what God’s people should look like and how they should act. God is active today.
So, I have found it beneficial to stop occasionally and ask myself (as I ask others), “What is God doing in my life?” and “What has God been saying to me lately?” As I’ve mentioned on this blog recently, God has been showing me what it means to reach out to believers who disagree with me or to those who are unbelievers.
So far, this has led to some frustration. I have been able to have some good conversations with brothers and sisters from different traditions, but these times have seemed rather forced and unnatural. Also, I have had some interaction with unbelievers, but again, these times were not as fluid as I think they should be.
However, as God has been teaching me, there have also been some wonderful moments, moments that seem to flow from the will of the Father instead of flowing from my own plans. These are the times that I’ve learned the most about the heart of the Father and the working of the Spirit. This is when I’m learning that God desires for his children to dwell together in unity, and that the Father loves those who are not part of his family. Also, it is during these “providentially ordained” moments that I learn to wait for God to move without trying to force or create something on my own.
So, what is God doing in your life? What has God been saying to you recently?
More about edification when the church meets
A few days ago, in my post “What if we met to edify one another?“, Jeff from “Thoughts from Jeff” left several good comments. In one of his comments, he listed some things that he would like to see happen when the church meets together. This is his list:
Thus, the meeting would be the following:
– a time of gathering (music & fellowship)
– introduction to the theme for the day
– scriptural reading
– sacraments
– sharing time (individuals/groups sharing what is occurring – especially in light of the theme)
– connecting points (challenge of what we are learning/sharing to what is happening in the community)
– message board where all celebrations/prayers of group individuals are at in their journey
– meal (individuals interacting)
– body prayer
– blessing (individuals encourage/build up/pray for individuals and groups to have a “successful” week in the community
I asked him if he would explain each item and how those items would lead to edification. He has done just that in a post called “Dreaming of Church“. Jeff did a great job of explaining what he would like to see happen during a church meeting, and I appreciate the thought and work that went into his post.
I wonder, would anyone else like to list one or more things that you would like to see happen during the church meeting?