The church and one another
JR at “More than Cake” has written a great post called “Are You A Part of the Real Church?”
He begins by reminding us that Jesus washed his followers’ feet the last night before he was crucified, ending by telling them that he did that as an example for them to also serve one another.
Then, JR makes the following statement, “Living for one another is the essence of what it means to be God’s church.” Did you catch that? Living for one another…
“One another…”
Finally, JR ends his post with a list of 33 verses that all focus on our relationship and interaction with “one another.”
Seriously, jump over to his site and read the last that JR has put together.
Yeah, apparently “one another” is pretty important to being the church…
A blogger’s thoughts about the modern local church
Often, in my short noon posts, I link to a blog post written by another blogger. This time, I’m going to link to two different blog posts by the same blogger.
The blogger is Bobby from “Deconstructing Neverland.” And, I’m going to link to his posts in the reverse order that he published them… for a reason.
First, in his post called “What does local church look like?” Bobby admits that he does not agree with the way “local church” is usually defined and delineated today.
Next, in his post called “Trying something different,” talks about meeting with a local church. (The post is primarily about how the leaders of that church are trying a different, more participatory style of teaching.)
Now, put these two posts together. Bobby does not agree with how some of his brothers and sisters think about and live as the church. But, he wants to spend time with them (and DOES spend time with them) in spite of these differences.
What an AWESOME example of both blogging and LIVING as the church of God!
Replay: Connecting… On a Real Life Level
Three and a half years ago, in April 2008, I published a blog post called “Connecting… on a real life level.” (The post was actually a follow-up to a post called “Searching for Fellowship.”) It was written by a lady who had contacted me via email. In this post, she explains how God had been faithful to bring people into her life that she could connect with on a real life level. I hope this post encourages you as much as it encouraged me. (And, if you are seeking that kind of fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ, I hope this post is especially encouraging to you to persevere and to trust God to bring people into your life even though the journey there can be difficult and painful.)
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“Connecting… On a Real Life Level”
Here is an update from my letter that I had written to you in November.
At the time I had written to you, I was questioning what the following scripture meant to me: “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)
The reason that I was questioning this is because I am a soul that has been “in church” every single Sunday since the 2nd grade. Then about 4 years ago I suddenly found myself not attending church at all after our church had a traumatic split. We were devastated by what had happened, meaning- how people had behaved toward us and toward each other.
The process has been difficult and painful. But God has been faithful to who He is. He is good and he never changes! No matter our circumstance. So, through this painful season we have learned alot about ourselves, alot about our God, alot about people, and about church as an institution. Our pain kept us from attending any churches in the beginning, but our understanding is what has been showing us the real reason we do not desire to walk through the sanctuary doors as we once had. We desire more than programs and religion. We desire connecting with people on a real life level wrapped in the understanding of our identity in Christ and the Grace of God.
Since the time I had first written to you, I have made some wonderful connections with a few dear people online. I hope to meet each of them in person someday soon! My husband had the opportunity to travel to Europe to be a part of a conference in Bulgaria. The conference spoke to Pastors there about the message of Grace. I surprisingly have made a connection with a woman there who had been an attender of a conference. I have been enjoying connections God has provided with people in many different places. I feel that through these connections I have been able to live the scripture of Heb. 10:24-25. Of course it does not look like what we are accustomed to in traditional church. But the result is that there is an assembling and encouragement taking place.
We are also looking into an opportunity of hosting and facilitating grace walk groups through the ministry of Steve McVey. We hope in this opportunity we will make more tangible connections with people in our community.
Last week we had attended a funeral in which many people from our past church were at. We were welcomed by some, and to our expectation, shunned by others. God did a lot in our hearts through that day. And I realized that I am walking on the path of healing with a hope and a future. There are some who will never choose that path because holding on to the past is where they seem to find their life. But for those who do choose a path of healing and restoration we welcome them by our side.
I believe we have crawled out of the “rut” and are walking ahead on the other side. Resting in Jesus is what brings us comfort and HOPE. We know He is in control and that He is GOOD! We are excited for all the things to come as our God lays out our future for us.
Thank you for your encouragement and prayers through this journey.
Peace,
Teresa
(formerly, anonymous child of God)
Recognzing and living among the church beyond your particular circle
Josh at “Called to Rebuild” has written a very important post called “Living a church life that involves ALL God’s people.”
In the post, Josh talks about recognizing and living among the church beyond the particular people that he gathers with regularly. But, the post is important because he does more than just talk about it: he’s trying to live it, and he provides an example for us.
Josh writes:
The brothers and sisters I meet with on a regular basis are few in number. It’s been that way all three years we’ve been together. And while I am thoroughly convinced that it is not our number but simply what we are that makes for the Lord’s testimony, we often long for more fellowship with other believers. So in the past six months or so, as the light of the local church being the fellowship of all God’s people in a given place has dawned upon me, I’ve been moved to more actively seek out fellowship with other believers beyond the “walls” of our particular circle.
Thus far, the results of this endeavor have been both rewarding and frustrating. While we have been able to connect with many brothers and sisters who have different backgrounds and emphases of truth, at the same time it’s been difficult to gain any kind of reciprocation to our reaching out. Whether they are too busy, too cautious or simply do not see the importance of it, many saints don’t seem to have much desire to really go beyond their own congregation to have fellowhsip with other local believers. It’s heartbreaking, really.
Yes! We need more examples like this. We need to read about and see more believers reaching beyond the “walls” of their particular fellowship to embrace those other believers that God has brought into their lives. These brothers and sisters are already there in your workplace, school, neighborhood, social clubs, hobby groups, etc.
And, yes, like Josh is discovering, this kind of fellowship is difficult to find. At times, the search can be heartbreaking. However, I’ve found that the benefits are well worth the work!
What about you? How have you searched for and found fellowship with brothers and sisters outside of your particular circle?
Life in Christ and the Spirit in Us
In this pseudo-series, I’ve said that life in Christ is synonymous with life in the Spirit (which is the same as being given the Spirit, being indwelled by the Spirit, or being baptized by the Spirit). (See my post “Life in Christ is Life in the Spirit.”) Next, I said that a person who is indwelled by the Spirit can be filled with the Spirit or can grieve or quench the work of the Spirit. (See my post “Life in Christ and Filled with the Spirit.”)
While the Spirit indwells and fills an individual, the Spirit also works through a group of people who are all in Christ (in the Spirit). We see this dual (individual and community) aspect of the work of the Spirit in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, where he recognizes the individual as the temple (dwelling place) of the Holy Spirit and the community as the temple of the Holy Spirit:
Do you [plural] not know that you [plural] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you [plural]? (1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV)
Or do you [singular] not know that your [singular] body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you [singular], whom you [singular] have from God? (1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV)
In each case (both the singular “you” and the plural “you”) there is only one “temple.” The Holy Spirit somehow makes his one home in the individual believer and the gathered community of believers.
We have already seen that the Spirit works within the individual believer to help that person live in Christ. But, we can also see many examples of how the Spirit works through the community to help members of that community to live in Christ. The point, though, is not for someone (or group) within the community to tell others what the Spirit is doing, but for the community to help one another listen to and learn from the Spirit who dwells within each of them.
The work of the Spirit through the community is especially important in situations where an individual is grieving or quenching the Spirit living within. It’s at this time that the community (in the Spirit) can help the brother or sister turn back toward God in order to understand what he is doing in and through them.
We see this kind of interaction of the Spirit through the community in passages such as this one:
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. (Galatians 6:1 ESV)
While that particular passage points toward a brother or sister who has moved toward sin (transgression), problems also occur when a brother or sister is not actively following the Spirit. That’s the kind of community (in the Spirit) involvement that we find in this passage:
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works… (Hebrews 10:24 ESV)
So, we’ve seen that the Spirit indwells us to bring us into the life of Christ. The individual who has been given the Spirit can either be filled with the Spirit (yielding to the Spirit’s work) or can quench or grieve the Spirit (refusing to yield to the Spirit’s work). Now, we see that the Spirit can also work through the community to help an individual (who is also indwelled by the Spirit) to turn back toward the work of God in his/her life through the Spirit.
Replay: Imagine all the people… loving one another in spite of their differences
Four and a half years ago, I wrote a post called “Imagine all the people.” No, the post had nothing to do with John Lennon’s famous song. Instead, the post was in response to studying Paul’s letter of Ephesians with my family. The question we pondered that evening – that resulted in this blog post – is this: how do we love people who are different from us. We found something in Paul’s letter to the believers in Ephesus that helped us. Perhaps it will help you too.
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My family is studying Ephesians. Now, I know that some of you who know me well are laughing, because I LOVE to study Ephesians – it seems that I am ALWAYS studying Ephesians. Anyway, this is actually for a class assignment for which I have recruited my family to help.
We are supposed to read through Ephesians (and 1 Peter later) and answer the following question: “What do these texts say about faith as a way of life?”
As we were reading through chapter 2 of Ephesians, we noticed the emphasis on how God had created one new people from the Jews and Gentiles (Eph 2:14-16). This new people was to live as a family (household) and citizens of a new kingdom (Eph 2:19). Again, in chapter 3, Paul says that when Jews and Gentiles lives as one people (the church) they demonstrate the manifold wisdom of God (Eph 3:10). Paul also reminds us again that we are one family named for God, such that God is the patriarch of the family (Eph 3:14-15). He then calls us to strength, knowledge, and love (Eph 3:16-19).
We discussed how difficult it is for us to live with and love people who are different from us. Certainly the Jews and Gentiles found this kind of life difficult. Yet, God expects us to live as a family and to love one another – and not just any family, but His family – and not just with people who are like us, but with all believers, even if they are very different from us. How do we do that?
So, we did a quick exercise that really helped me, and hopefully it helped them. Maybe it will help you as well. Here is the exercise: Think of someone who is completely different from you. Think about their race, ethnicity, education level, economic level, hygiene, clothing, housing, language, culture, etc. Picture that person in your mind, and ask yourself, “How can I possibly love that person and live together as family with that person.” Then, read the end of Ephesians 3 below:
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV)
Certainly this passage applies to more than our living together in love with those who are different from us. But, it does apply to this as well. Because of God’s power at work in us, He is able to love someone through us that we would never love on our own.
What is the Apostles’ Teaching?
On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God (Spirit of Jesus – Holy Spirit) indwelled 120 of Jesus’ followers as they were waiting for the “Promise of God” as Jesus had instructed them. The Holy Spirit was that Promise, and they all immediately began to proclaim the praises of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:1-4) After Peter’s proclamation (and, logistically, I’d argue it was after the proclamation of the other 119 also), 3000 people received that same promise, the Spirit of God. (Acts 2:41)
What follows is a beautiful of summary of the new (re-newed) life of that community in Christ. Their life included dedication to fellowship with God and one another, sharing meals together, praying together, sharing their possessions with anyone who was in need, and (apparently) proclaiming the gospel.
But, according to the very beginning of that summary description in Acts 2:42, their new life in Christ included something else: dedication/devotion to (or perseverance in) “the apostles’ teaching”:
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42 ESV)
What does it mean that these 3120 (plus more added daily) “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching”?
To begin with, the verb “devoted themselves” (the ESV translators must have found the “themselves” in the verb) could also be translated “persisted in,” “busied themselves with,” or “persevered in.” The form of the verb makes it clear that this was an ongoing practice. (For those who understand grammar, this is a periphrastic participle.) So, it’s acceptable (and perhaps even closer) to translate this verb as “they kept on devoting themselves to…”
But, what was “the apostles’ teaching” that they were devoting themselves to? Well, “teaching” here is not a verb. It would be incorrect to think that Luke was painting a picture of those early Christians continually devoting themselves to listening to the apostles teach/preach. Instead, they kept on devoting themselves to WHAT the apostles were teaching.
What were the apostles teaching? If we conclude that the apostles were following Jesus’ instructions, then the apostles were teaching what Jesus had taught them. And, beyond teaching facts, the apostles were teaching people to DO everything that Jesus had told them to do. (For example, consider Matthew 28:19-20.)
Thus, being continually dedicated to what the apostles were teaching is tantamount to continually DOING everything that Jesus had taught the apostles to do while he was with them. (I believe that much of this teaching – and the most important of Jesus’ teachings – are included in the Gospels, and then explained or interpreted in the epistles in the contexts of each of those churches/recipients. And, of course, the most important thing – according to Jesus – is to love God with everything you have and to love your neighbor as yourself.)
The apostles’ teaching has just as much to do with a way of living as things to believe. This is easily verified by checking the statements of Jesus in the Gospels. Furthermore, we can see what Paul understood as “doctrine” or “teaching” (the words are the same) in Titus 2:1-15.
So, what does it mean that those early believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching”? It means that they were continually persisting in doing everything that Jesus had taught the apostles (and them) to do.
(P.S. I am happy to see that another blogger is discussing this same topic. See Josh’s post “The apostles’ teaching.”)
What do you think about when you hear the word “fellowship”?
Lately, for various reasons, I’ve been thinking about the word and concept of “fellowship.” As I’ve thought about this word, and the various passages of Scripture that use the Greek term translated “fellowship,” I’ve recognized that there’s much, much more to this term than I’ve previously thought.
So, I’ll start this post by asking you this question: “What do you think about when you hear the word ‘fellowship’?”
Seriously, think about it for moment, and try to answer the question for yourself.
Most Christians (even those who do not know Greek) know that “fellowship” is one of the translations of the Greek term κοινωνία (koinonia). However, many do not know how that Greek term is used in Scripture. In fact, the word is only used 19 times in the New Testament, and scanning those usages might be beneficial:
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42 ESV)
For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution [fellowship] for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. (Romans 15:26 ESV)
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9 ESV)
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation [fellowship] in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation [fellowship] in the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16 ESV)
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership [different term but perhaps synonymous?] has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV)
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part [fellowship] in the relief of the saints… (2 Corinthians 8:3-4 ESV)
By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution [fellowship] for them and for all others… (2 Corinthians 9:13 ESV)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:13 ESV)
… and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. (Galatians 2:9 ESV)
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership [fellowship] in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians 1:3-5 ESV)
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation [fellowship] in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. (Philippians 2:1-2 ESV)
…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share [fellowship] his sufferings, becoming like him in his death… (Philippians 3:10 ESV)
… and I pray that the sharing [fellowship] of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. (Philemon 6 ESV)
Do not neglect to do good and to share [fellowship] what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:16 ESV)
… that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3 ESV)
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7 ESV)
Obviously, most terms do not have a single meaning, but instead have a range of meanings. Likewise, the Greek term κοινωνία (koinonia) has a range of meanings, but it seems clear from the passages above that the meanings of the term relate to the English terms “sharing” or “partnership.”
In the passages above, the children of God share in Christ, they share finances/goods with one another, they share in the gospel (but not meaning as we say “share the gospel”), they share in their faith (trust) in God, they share in sufferings… and beyond this, they were devoting themselves to (persisting in or continuing in) this kind of sharing.
In other words, they were sharing life… life in Christ and life in one another.
Now, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the term “fellowship.” And, I’d love to hear your answer to this question: What real life example(s) do you have of the kind of “fellowship” that is exemplified in the Scripture passages above?
Guest Blogger: Who are we? Seeking God together without a formula.
I’ve invited several people to write “guest blog posts” for this blog. There are several reasons for this: 1) To offer different perspectives. 2) To generate even more discussion and conversation between blogs. 3) To introduce other bloggers to my readers.
(If you are interested in writing a guest blog post, please contact me at aknox[at]sebts[dot]com.)
Today’s post was written by JRo. You can follow JRo on Twitter (@JRo1919) and his website.
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Seeking God together without a formula
When Alan asked me to write to you guys and tell you about the group I meet with I wondered exactly what I was going to say. I mean I know what we do and what is going on but how do I communicate it to others who read this? Well, here is my attempt. May God bless you in reading this as he has us in finding community and relationships as we seek out God’s desire for what the church is and how it functions here in Jefferson City, MO.
It all started as 3 of us guys had met, all having a desire for more than what we had been getting through church. A roommate of mine, Brett who attends the Spanish church, and I began to go to coffee shops when I was a youth pastor and decided about 5 months ago over dinner we needed to hang out with more people. About that same time I started working at a coffee shop in Jeff and one of the guys I work with started talking about a Bible study. We invited some people to meet on the patio where Justin and I work and so we began.
Being primarily made up of twenty something’s we naturally ask a lot of questions of church functions, structures and how to have community but also serve others as well. We desire to build relationships that reach people’s needs being faithful to the Gospel to go. Those opportunities are being explored as we find areas in our community where we can serve, hopefully breaking down walls that generations have produced within our culture in America. In our society older people have a lot of untapped knowledge that the younger generations write off. Personally, I desire older men to invest in me and mentor me as I realize more and more how much they have that I don’t in all areas of life. I believe all in our group think this way in the directions they are headed and careers they pursue.
So, what are we? A bible study, a church, a group of friends? The answer: yes. We are all of those things. We eat a lot of meals together and with our cultural experiences that is diverse as well. Just this past weekend we trekked to Columbia, MO to eat at a new Cajun restaurant. But it’s more than different types of food. It’s about building relationships. One of my friends told me he heard a pastor say, “People in this younger generation take a solid year to build a substantial relationship with another person.” We have only been meeting for 3 months, every other week, and only a handful has known each other before we all met.
We are still meshing friendships and growing to being a group that, together and individually, reaches others with the pure love of the Gospel of Christ. We aren’t against typical church but realize the current church structure leaves us hungry… actually all of us have other congregations we attend on Sunday mornings. God is the Father and the church, being the bride, is our mom… and you don’t talk bad about my mom. We all need work, but the point lies in the searching. We don’t desire status quo and “always has been” just because “that’s what we do.” We have legit questions and legit searching and are relying on the Father, the Son and the Spirit to guide us as we continue to grow.
It’s not about formulas and to be honest we are learning that it’s ok not to structure our worship times together around what we have “always done”. Our prayer is that God would use this time in our lives to grow us. We may not last long in our small group as 3 of our girls are almost positively leaving for other countries to live for extended times to teach and one couple, Justin the co-worker, is leaving soon with his wife Kallie to attend seminary in KC. Brett, my roommate, is trying to leave as well to teach or just live in another country. Whatever result it will be for God’s glory but I’m convinced he is using us to meet a need here now and mature us for the future.
This is what it’s about right? Building relationships, living life with one another… because I think you would agree formulas get old and many times they attempt to limit a limitless God through our control. Fact is we are being pursued each moment by the Father who crafted each one of us. I agree with Donald Miller in Searching for God Knows What that God, as a perfect being, did what only a perfect being could do. He was selfless and created us to enjoy Him. He also pursues us even though we are fallen and undeserving of any grace He bestows. I just don’t find that in a formula. My prayer is that God’s children would let walls fall by the second each day so more and more we can be fluid and flexible in loving people. Remember it’s not a battle against flesh and blood and so, together, we have to rely on the Spirit to mesh our messy lives bringing a loving light into a dark world.
May God get ALL the glory!
JRo
Church at the Lake and Spontaneously Meeting with Another Church
A few weeks ago, one of the families we meet with each Sunday as the church asked if we could all meet together at the lake. It sounded like a great idea to everyone, so we planned to get together yesterday morning and afternoon at a nearby park on the lake.
As people started arriving, we noticed a large group of people gathered at one corner of the beach area while the rest of the beach was completely empty. We wandered closer and realized that another church was meeting at the lake and were baptizing that morning.
More of our church continued to arrive, and we all gathered around the other church and witnessed their baptism. It was an exciting time.
We were two very different groups of people. 1) They were from Durham; we were from the Wake Forest / Youngsville area. 2) They were primarily Hispanic; we were primarily Caucasian. 3) They were from a Pentecostal background; we were from a Baptist background.
But, we had so much in common. While most of us do not understand much Spanish, we could definitely understand what was being said as each person was being baptized: “En el nombre del Padre y del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo.”
During the baptism, at one point, a brother walked up and introduced himself to us. He told us the story of one of the ladies who was being baptized. It was a beautiful story of healing and grace.
After the baptism, as we were gathering around the different picnic tables, playing in the water, and such, we invited them to play volleyball with us, and they invited us to play soccer with them.
While we were expecting to have a great time fellowshiping with the church at the lake Sunday morning and afternoon, we did not expect the additional fellowship with these other brothers and sisters.