Traveling companions
All believers are travelers… walking the way of Jesus through a land that is not our home. The church is composed of those traveling companions who are walking with Jesus together with you.
Jesus promised that we would not walk alone. He is with us… indwelling us with his Spirit. He is also with us through the interactions and relationships with our traveling companions.
We never walk alone, even when we are alone. On the other hand, we are not created to walk by ourselves. “Just me and Jesus” may be the American way, but it is not the way of Christ.
We need our traveling companions, and they need us.
Church in the Wildwood
Okay… not really the wildwood… but in a few weeks, our church will be gathering together at a local campground. We’ll be camping together beginning Saturday, May 15 through Sunday, May 16.
I always love camping with the church. We get to spend so much time with one another, and I always get to know one or two people better than I had before.
I think one of my favorite times camping is the evening camp fire. Just about the time it gets dark, we circle our chairs around the fire and eat S’mores, and sing, and eat S’mores, and share stories, and eat S’mores, and tell jokes, and eat S’mores, and praise God, and eat S’mores. Occasionally, we’ll also eat S’mores.
If you want to camp with us – or even just join us for part of Saturday evening (the camp fire) or Sunday morning – let me know and I’ll give you more details.
And, if you haven’t thought about it before, why not trying camping with your church – or even just a few families if its not something that can be done in your church situation.
Dallas Willard on Assessing Spiritual Growth
There is a very interesting interview with Dallas Willard at Out of Ur called “Dallas Willard on How We Assess Spiritual Growth.” The interview begins like this:
How can churches know if they are being effective at making disciples?
Many churches are measuring the wrong things. We measure things like attendance and giving, but we should be looking at more fundamental things like anger, contempt, honesty, and the degree to which people are under the thumb of their lusts. Those things can be counted, but not as easily as offerings.
How are those things assessed? Willard says that certain tools can be helpful, but only in the context of “a deep fellowship of trust.” Very interesting interview… you should read it.
Have you ever been part of a “deep fellowship of trust”? How did you assess one another’s spiritual growth?
Living life as foreigners
Art, from “Church Task Force,” once again left a comment that I think needs to be shared. He wrote this in response to my post “Church in a coffee shop“:
Deb and I lived on Okinawa for 3 1/2 years, living in a small village for most of that time. Different languages, customs, dress, food, values, etc. We were always “gaijinâ€â€“foreigners, outsiders, no matter how much we made friends, no matter how well we fit in. It was not our true home, it wasn’t where we belonged if you will.
If/when another American came by, even if they weren’t from Altruria Street in South Buffalo, it was like finding an old family friend–someone you had an instant connection and familial feeling for, and they for you.
That connection, that feeling of kinship, that desire to encourage and help one another, that feeling of finding someone from “homeâ€â€“that is something like how we might act/see ourselves/feel when we meet with other believers, anytime, anywhere.
In that framework, we would want to know what has brought us here, what God is doing in and through us, how we might help each other, what are our struggles–all without being divisively interested in determining first what precise flavor of Christian we are.
What do you think about Art’s description?
Breaking Bread and the Lord’s Supper
So, when we read “breaking bread” in the New Testament, should we assume that the author is talking about “the Lord’s Supper” (or Communion or the Eucharist or whatever it is called in your tradition)?
We find Jesus “breaking bread” in the feeding of the 5000 and the feeding of the 4000:
Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. (Matthew 14:19 ESV; see also Mark 6:41)
[H]e took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. (Matthew 15:36 ESV; see also Mark 8:6)
Similarly, the phrase “break bread” is used in the accounts of Jesus last meal with his disciples before the crucifixion:
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” (Matthew 26:26; see also Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19)
Jesus also “broke bread” after walking along the road to Emmaus with two disciples:
When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. (Luke 24:30 ESV; see also Luke 24:35)
In Acts 2:42 and Acts 2:46, Luke tells us that the church “broke bread” together daily after Pentecost:
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42 ESV)
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts… (Acts 2:46 ESV)
Paul met with the church in Troas when they got together to “break bread”:
On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. (Acts 20:7 ESV)
And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. (Acts 20:11 ESV)
When Paul was on a ship in a storm for two weeks, he broke bread with the sailors:
And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. (Acts 27:35 ESV)
Finally, Paul wrote to the Corinthians about “breaking bread” twice, once a repetition of Jesus’ words at his last meal with his followers:
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16 ESV)
[A]nd when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24 ESV)
As far as I can tell, these are all the passages in the New Testament that refer to “breaking bread.”
There’s also an interesting occurrence of the phrase “break bread” in Jeremiah – doubly interesting because it also includes reference to a “cup”:
No one shall break bread for the mourner, to comfort him for the dead, nor shall anyone give him the cup of consolation to drink for his father or his mother. (Jeremiah 16:7 ESV)
So, which of these instances of “break bread” do you think definitely refers to “the Lord’s Supper”? Which ones definitely do NOT refer to “the Lord’s Supper”?
Man-made or (super)Natural Community?
Two years ago, our family took a vacation to the mountains of western North Carolina. While we were there, we stopped by several waterfalls. These waterfalls helped me think about our community in Christ. I wrote about it in a post called “Man-made or (super)Natural Community?”
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Man-made or (super)Natural Community?
Last week, while we were on vacation in the mountains of North Carolina, we had several opportunities to spend some time at a few waterfalls in the area. We enjoyed stopping by the side of the road and walking the trails to the falls. Usually we only had to walk a few yards into the woods to find the waterfall.
We saw small waterfalls that were only a few feet high, and we saw Whitewater Falls which claims to be the highest waterfall in the eastern United States. We saw cascade falls, tiered falls, and plunge falls. We even saw one fall that was called a “sliding rock” with swimming holes at the top and bottom, although Jeremy and Miranda said the water was too cold for swimming.
All of the waterfalls were different and all of them were very beautiful in their own way. We enjoyed the natural beauty of the water, the sound of the water cascading over rocks or falling into a pool below, and the deep green of the woods around the waterfalls.
However, there was one waterfall did we did not enjoy. In fact, once we stopped to look at the waterfall, we only stayed for a few seconds. Why? The waterfall was not natural. It was a man-made fall. Yes, there was water cascading down over rocks, but above there was an earthen dam that controlled the flow of water. We could immediately tell that there was something different about this fall. Even though it had all the proper ingredients – water, rocks, sound, woods – it was not the same. This waterfall was contrived… controlled… man-made. It was not a real waterfall.
As I have been thinking about these waterfalls, especially in relation to the man-made waterfall, I wonder if our churches are similar. Could it be that many of us are not experiencing real Spirit-created community, but instead are we experiencing something that is contrived, controlled, and man-made?
I’m thinking specifically about alot of “small groups” of people who are placed together because of age, interests, etc. Placing people together does not create community, although it could certainly allow God opportunities to create community. The question is, are we trying to create something, or are we allowing God to create the community. If we are allowing God to create the community, are we giving him complete control, or are we setting limits for him. The more we become involved in trying to create community, the more contrived, controlled, and man-made it will become. It will not be a community that finds their identity in Christ and shares fellowship in the Spirit. Instead, it will be a group of people who find their identity in a certain person, location, time, etc.
I’m sure that the people who created the waterfall wanted to make something that was just as beautiful as the natural waterfalls around the area. In the same way, the people who try to create community themselves are trying to create something wonderful, something necessary. Probably, in many cases, they are trying to create a community because they have experienced and lived in a Spirit-created community. But, man cannot create something that only God can create. We can create something close – something that looks right – something that feels right at times – but it remains contrived, controlled, and man-made.
A great post on the community aspect of the church
Jack at “Flight Level Musings” has written a great post called “What is Community?” It’s hard to find just one part to quote, but I’ll start with this paragraph, where Jack talks about Jesus exchanging blood family for God’s family:
Here Jesus broke with the blood family and established God’s family. Since people of that time already understood strong-group family culture, it was not a difficult shift for them to embrace their new family of believers. Now, the blood of Jesus was what tied the family together not their earthly family blood. For those of us in the west, this is not our culture nor is it our lifestyle. We are very independently minded and individual focused; not community focused. So for the most part you do not see much community life in Christianity. We attend our buildings on Sunday mornings and sit in our pews. Then we go back and do whatever we do. There is very little interaction outside of the building.
I hope you read Jack’s post and think seriously about your brothers and sisters in Christ. Are you living as if they are truly your family?
Reading the Gospel of John Together
Earlier this week, I wrote about our church meeting last Sunday. (see my post “Meeting Around the Table of the Lord“) After publishing that post, I remembered that there was another time 3 years ago that we had the bread, then a meal, then the cup as part of our meeting. But, that time was a different kind of meeting. That was a meeting set aside to reading through the entire Gospel of John in one night. Here is what I wrote about it 3 years ago in a post called “Reading John“. (By the way, as we’re finishing our study of the Gospel of Matthew, we’ve talked about getting together to read through that entire Gospel in one sitting also.)
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Last night, our family gathered with about 40 other brothers and sisters to read the Gospel of John. The family that hosted last night also hosted a reading of the Gospel of Luke in December. Our family was not able to attend the reading of Luke, so this was our first time to sit through a community reading of a gospel.
We started by breaking bread as part of the Lord’s Supper. Then, we all shared a meal. After the meal, we sang a song and began reading John. One person read each chapter (the chapters had been assigned as people arrived). After each group of seven chapters, we took a fifteen minute break. During the breaks, we would eat and sing songs again. After reading all twenty-one chapters, we shared the cup of the Lord’s Supper.
This was a very special time for us. It was amazing to hear the Gospel of John read in one sitting in a community of believers.
We desperately need each other
Bill at “NT/History Blog” has written an excellent post called “Walking Distance Ecclesiology.” He says that the cities of the first century (Thessalonica, even Rome and Jerusalem) were small enough (about 1 square mile) that people could easily walk anywhere within the city within a few minutes. This means that the early Christians were easily accessible to one another. And, that’s a good thing. Why?
This is what Bill says:
But the first Christians weren’t just accessible to one another, they were necessary. They needed each other. They no longer fit well with anyone in their towns apart from one another. For knowing Christ, THEY were all that THEY had. Each new Christian found in Jesus Christ had to also find out that their Lord was inside their new siblings as well. Thus, if they needed Him, then they needed each other.
Think about that… the early Christians needed each other and they KNEW they needed each other. Has that changed? Yeah, I think so… and so does Bill. He ends with this very true and very heartbreaking statement:
We so desperately need that [togetherness and relying on one another]. Most of us just don’t know how badly.
So… how can we help believers understand how much they need one another, and how much they’re missing if they don’t spend time with one another?
A Cup o’ Joe or a Cup with Joe
Just under two years ago, I wrote a post called “A Cup o’ Joe or a Cup with Joe.” This was one of the most fun posts to write, and it led to the most interesting and fun comment threads. I hope you enjoy this post.
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A Cup o’ Joe or a Cup with Joe
A few weeks ago, my friend Joe invited me for a cup of coffee. We decided to meet at a local Starbucks on Tuesday at 5:00, just after work. We happened to arrive at the same time, and coincidentally, we both ordered the same thing: a tall cafe mocha decaf. Joe surprised me by buying my coffee. We found an empty table in a quiet corner and spent the next hour or so talking about God and life. We each discussed what God was teaching us and how we were trying to obey him in our day-to-day lives. We talked about loving other people and caring for the least. As Joe told his stories, I was encouraged and challenged all at the same time. When Joe announced that he had to leave, I was disappointed but also understood the demands of life and family.
I enjoyed my time with Joe, and I was looking forward to spending more time with him. From what I could tell, we had experienced real fellowship, the beginning of community, the sharing of the Spirit. Also, since I am learning what it means to grow in maturity and disciple others, I thought it would be a good idea to share this experience with others.
The next week, I invited another friend to have a cup of coffee with me. Unfortunately, Tom was busy on Tuesday evening, so we had to meet on Wednesday. He works later than I do, so we met at 5:30, and since Tom doesn’t like Starbucks, we went to a local coffee shop. I was a little concerned about the change in plans, but I thought maybe it would work anyway. When I got to the coffee shop, I had to wait about 10 minutes for Tom to show up; apparently he was delayed at work. I ordered my tall cafe mocha decaf, and waited a moment for Tom to order. Instead, Tom waited until after I paid for my coffee. I was surprised that Tom didn’t buy my coffee, and I was getting a little anxious. Next, Tom ordered a black coffee – no mocha, no decaf. Even though there was an empty table in the corner, Tom picked a table in the center of the room.
As we sat and talked, I kept going over things in my mind: Wedneday instead of Tuesday; 5:30 instead of 5:00; local coffee shop instead of Starbucks; Tom was late, and he didn’t pay for my coffee; Tom didn’t order the same thing that I ordered; our table was right in the middle of the shop, while there was a perfectly good empty table in the corner. Things were not going well for our coffee meeting. In fact, I didn’t see how anything good could come out of this. Everything was going wrong, and nothing was going right!
Finally, after enduring several minutes of this train wreck, I interrupted Tom as he was babbling on about how his job was not going very well, and how he was afraid that he was going to be downsized, and how he and his wife were having trouble. I told him that I needed to go and that I was sorry that our meeting wasn’t very productive.
Then, Tom said something surprising, “I noticed that you seemed distracted. Is there something wrong?”
Can you believe that Tom asked me if there was something wrong!?!? I mean, everything was wrong! The day was wrong! The time was wrong! The location was wrong! The coffee was wrong! The table was wrong! I can’t believe he had the nerve to ask me if there was something wrong. I don’t even know if this could be called a proper meeting for coffee!
But, instead of pointing out his obvious flaws, I just shook my head and made a hasty exit. I decided then and there to never have coffee with Tom again. He just doesn’t know how to meet for coffee.