Church Life in Christ: It’s all Connected
Five years ago, when I started this blog, I started it for a very specific reason: to study the purpose of the assembling of the church according to the New Testament. For that reason, I named the blog “The Assembling of the Church.” I was about to begin PhD studies (on the same topic), and I wanted this blog to be a place where I could write about and discuss my studies.
Over the years, I’ve learned something else very important: you cannot ONLY study the assembly of the church. Why? Because when it comes to our life together in Christ, it is all interconnected.
You see, we like to compartmentalize things, especially when we try to study them. Look at school subjects, even beginning with kindergarten and elementary school. There are times for specific activities and exercises and subjects.
Nothing changes when we get into the realm of theology – the study and understanding of God. We humans like to divide subject into smaller compartments (theology proper, Christology, Pneumatology, Anthropology, Ecclesiology etc.) and attempt to study just that one compartment or even a subset of that one compartment. For example, my particular topic of interest would be a subset of Ecclesiology, right? Well, yes. But it is also a subset of theology proper, Christology, Pneumatology, Anthropology, etc. Again, it is all interconnected.
Even when we think of ideas and topics and concepts that seem to relate only to Ecclesiology, we find they are truly interconnected within the topic of the church and also connected to the other areas of theology as well.
For example, I cannot study the purpose of the church assembling together in the New Testament without consider how that relates to Scripture, theology proper (God), Christology (Jesus Christ), Pneumatology (the Holy Spirit), Anthropology (mankind), etc.
Within the topic of ecclesiology, I cannot study the reason for Christians gathering together without also considering spiritual gifts (the reasons for them, the exercise of them, the extent of them, etc.), leadership (the nature of leadership and maturity among the church), our identity (both related to Christ and to one another), service (or “ministry” if you prefer), missions, etc. All of these topics are interrelated.
But, they are not only interconnected in our study; they are also interconnected in our life.
The way we meet together tells us a lot about what we think about God, Scripture, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, mankind, the church, etc. Also, the way we meet together tells us a lot about what we think about spiritual gifts, leadership, our identity, service, missions, etc.
The opposite is true also. What we truly believe about the items listed above: God, Scripture, Jesus Christ, … spiritual gifts, leadership, identity… will affect the way we meet together.
Similarly, all of the things listed above cannot be separated from the way that we live our lives together. The way we share (or do not share) our lives together says a lot about what we believe, and vice versa.
It really is interconnected. As much as we try, we cannot separate them cleanly… and perhaps we shouldn’t try. Because when we separate them, we may find that we begin saying one thing while living a completely different way.
And, we must always remember… following Christ is a way of life, not a list of concepts.
What do you think?
A people who live in fellowship with God
Occasionally, I come across a post or paragraph that really makes me stop and think… ok, so that happens often. And, I’m glad that it happens often.
But, when I read “God’s eternal purpose is found in the church life” by Josh (at “Called to Rebuild“), I really resonated with what he said.
Now, when some read the term “church life” they think about attending events and participating in programs at a certain building, but I’m pretty sure that’s not what Josh is talking about. In fact, this paragraph pretty much guarantees it:
For the past three years I have had the privilege of living and gathering with a small company of believers for whom life in Christ is more than a private, individual affair. We have gone through many seasons, had our fair share of highs and lows, and learned that Christ is found in the mundane aspects of life as well as the spectacular. Being built together in this way is worth its weight in gold, if you ask me. I so appreciate the church life, and I’ve come to see that this is the very heartbeat of God. The church life is the very center of His purpose and the end of all His activities. What God is ultimately seeking to obtain is a people who live in fellowship together with Himself.
Here’s the thing, as John told us, when we share life (fellowship) with one another, then we also share life (fellowship) with God. (1 John 1:3) If we are sharing in God’s life, then he is not only leading us to other believers, but he is also leading us out into the world.
When we share life with God, we are both gathered and sent. And, as Josh pointed out, this (gathering and sending) often happens when we fellowship with God in “the mundane aspects of life”
Replay: Consider One Another… in Hebrews 10:24-25
Three years ago, I wrote a post called “Consider One Another.” The post examines Hebrews 10:24-25, especially the command “consider one another.” Unfortunately, this verse is often used to defend attending church worship services, while the meaning of the command itself is left alone. This is an important passage for the church.
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As I’ve mentioned previously and as is probably obvious from the title bar of my blog, one of my favorite passages of Scripture concerning the assembling of the church is Hebrews 10:24-25:
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV)
I’ve talked about this passage previously in a few different posts (for example, see “But I have perfect attendance“, “Not forsaking, but encouraging“, and “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together“). However, in this post I’d like to consider the verb “consider”.
In context, these two verses comprise the third of three exhortations that help us learn how to respond to Jesus Christ – who both opened a new way for us into the very throne room of God and who is also our high priest. Because of these, we should respond by 1) drawing near to God (Heb. 10:22), 2) holding fast to our hope (Heb. 10:23), and 3) considering one another (Heb. 10:24). Thus, “considering how to stir up one another to love and good works” is a response to work of Jesus Christ – both his death and resurrection, and his continued work as our ever-present and sympathetic high priest. So, according to the author of Hebrews, “considering” is just as much a proper response and an important response to the gospel as is “drawing near” and “holding fast”
But, what does it mean to “consider one another”? The verb “consider” is related to the verb “perceive” or “understand”. An interesting use of this verb “consider” is found earlier in Hebrews:
Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. (Hebrews 3:1-2 ESV)
Just as the brothers and sisters were to “consider” Jesus and think seriously about his faithfulness, they were also to “consider” one another and think seriously about how to stir up one another to love and good works. This type of “consideration” calls for careful and intentional thought toward a certain goal. In the case of Hebrews 10:24, the “consideration” should lead toward action which would spur on others to demonstrate love and good works.
This last point is very important. I often find myself thinking about others in order to find fault or mistakes or points of disagreement. Since it is easier to see another’s speck of a problem while overlooking our own massive beam of a problem, we will also be able to find fault in other persons. But, this is not the type of “consideration” in this passage. When we respond properly to work of Jesus Christ, we find ourselves thinking about how to help others grow in maturity and how to help other demonstrate that maturity toward others – that is, through loving acts that demonstrate the love and goodness of God.
This type of “consideration” also assumes that we know enough about one another to know how to spur one another on to love and good works. We are sharing life with one another. We know one another’s strengths and weaknesses. We recognize where God is working in one another’s lives. We are concerned for one another. This seems to go beyond meeting for an hour or so each week. This seems to indicate a much more consistent and intentional relationship. It indicates that we are interrupting our own lives in order to include others.
It seems that “considering” Jesus (super)naturally leads us to “considering” others. Of course, this means that we have to stop “considering” ourselves. When we “consider” Jesus, we also “consider” others. John said that if we do not love others, then we are not loving God (i.e. 1 John 4:20-21). Could it be that if we are not finding ourselves thinking seriously about how to help one another grow in grace and maturity in Jesus Christ, then we are not actually “considering” Jesus?
Are you “considering” others? Now that you’re “considering” others, are you ready to take the next step and help them toward love and good works?
Whenever you come together
The primary focus of this blog – and my primary academic focus over the last few years – is church gatherings. Even more narrowly, I have been asking the following question: “According to the New Testament, why should believers gather together as the church?” (For that reason, just over five years ago, I named this blog “The Assembling of the Church.”)
Obviously, when you begin to study the gathering (or assembling) of the church, many other ecclesiological issues become important, not least of which would be leadership, fellowship, community, spiritual gifts, Lord’s Supper, baptism, and many, many more issues. In fact, a person’s understanding of the nature of God, of Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit will affect the way that person gathers with other believers. And, in reverse, the way a person gathers with other believers demonstrates what that person understands about God, Jesus, the Spirit, salvation, etc. (In fact, the way people gather together often says more about their beliefs than what they state concerning those beliefs.)
In the modern church, you will find two primary reasons given for the church to gather together: 1) worship or 2) evangelism. Both of these fall short of the scriptural evidence. First, according to Paul and other writers in Scripture, every aspect of the life of a child of God is to be worship. Second, since we’re talking about the church (i.e., those who are already God’s children), then evangelism is not needed – they have already been evangelized. (This does not mean that believers should not work together for the express purpose of proclaiming the gospel to unbelievers, but this should not be called a gathering of the church.)
So, according to Scripture, for what purpose should believers gather together?
Paul answers this question very succinctly in 1 Corinthians. Now, when reading this letter, it is clear that the Corinthian church has many problems. Some of those problems surfaced when they gathered together. Paul addressed these issues in 1 Corinthians 14, as part of a longer section in which he addresses spiritual gifts.
However, from a grammatical and discourse standpoint, 1 Corinthians 14 – and especially the last half of the chapter – are the focus of this teaching on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14. Thus, Paul began teaching on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:1 so that he could get to 1 Corinthians 14:1 and begin instructing them about meeting together.
So, according to Paul, why should believers gather together:
The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. (1 Corinthians 14:4-5 ESV)
So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. (1 Corinthians 14:12 ESV)
I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. (1 Corinthians 14:18-19 ESV)
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. (1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV)
In each of these passages, Paul continuously and consistently stresses the same point: when you come together as the church, you should seek to build up (edify) one another. Notice that building up others is more important to Paul than manifesting some gift of the Holy Spirit. (He says it’s better not to manifest a gift of the Spirit if that gift only builds up the individual.)
Why is prophesy to be preferred over speaking in tongues (uninterpreted) when the church meets? Is prophesy inherently better than tongues? No, they are both manifestations of the Holy Spirit. But, when the church meets, exercising gifts of the Holy Spirit is not to be our goal. Our goal – our purpose – is to edify one another. So, prophesy is preferred over speaking in tongues when the church meets because the whole church can be edified through prophesy.
These statements are incredible in their scope. Paul says that when gathering with other believers – in fact, any time you are gathered with other believers – you should seek to edify one another, mutually. Paul does not leave an opening from some gatherings of believers in which mutual edification is NOT the purpose. The point of this entire chapter is clear: anytime we are with other believers, it is all of our responsibility to help one another grow in maturity in Jesus Christ. This is not the responsibility of some; it is the responsibility of all.
And, it is in this purpose of gathering together (mutual edification) that we understand Paul’s previous instructions concerning spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12) and love (1 Corinthians 13).
Can we come together for other purposes? Well, sure. We can come together for many different numbers of purposes. But, if we wish to follow the examples, principles, and instructions that we find in Scripture, then we will only come together for the purpose of building one another up.
Guest Blogger: A simple post about simple church
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 Bobby from “Deconstructing Neverland.” You can also follow Bobby on Twitter (@reformedlostboy) and Facebook.
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I was honored, humbled and frankly a little intimidated when Alan asked me if I would write a guest post for his blog. I love Alan’s blog because he has the ability and desire to make biblically educated and articulate arguments for many of the things I am beginning to learn about assembling with the church. Me? I usually blog on my phone on my lunchbreak and fly by the seat of my pants sharing the things that are on my heart at that particular time. I guess that’s what Alan wants since he asked for this post. Ask and you shall receive, my man.
I feel like the kid who was just handed the microphone on stage for the first time. I’m imagining you all in your underwear now…someone told me that would help. Guess you didn’t need to know that. Anyways…okay, deep breath, spill it.
I decided to share with you all some of the lessons I’ve learned so far in our journey into simple church life. It’s been quite a ride so far, kinda like being on an ancient roller coaster where the joy of the ride is coupled with the fear of your car flying off the tracks. It’s exhilarating and frightening. I’ve been warned of the ruts of even simple church becoming a religious exercise but thankfully it hasn’t become that for us. We are slowly and steadily growing together as a family.
When we gather together it’s pretty obvious that we have absolutely no idea what we’re doing. We’re depending on an invisible leader to make Himself visible through us. (before I felt like the visible leader made the rest of us invisible) It is quite remarkable! There have been times when a ten year old boy spoke words that the Holy Spirit used to change my heart in a very profound way. With no scripted order or designated speakers, God has a way of making the foolish and base things have extraordinary power.
My mind is reeling now with all the things I’d love to share: the intimacy between brethren that is steadily growing, the equipping of the younger members by the entire body, the food (THE FOOD!!!), sharing a meal together every week, knowing how to pray for one another and being able to pray right then and there for those requests, the various and sometimes disagreeable interpretations of scripture that provide variety without division, the nature to share and help one another as often as any has need, the ability to have questions asked and answered at any given time of the gathering, and so much more. I really could go on and on and write a post on each of these 🙂
What I’ve been learning lately is to be patient while Christ builds His church. Relationships take time to form. Our part is just to trust in Him, take off our masks with one another and be real. That’s how maturity comes to the body. Letting the ugly and sickly parts of the body be tended to and cared for by the rest. It’s a mutual thing to keep one another on the straight and narrow. We just focus our hearts on Christ and help one another do the same. When we are all about Christ together, we are the best church a church can be, no matter our size.
The beauty about Christ is you can point others in His direction no matter where you are. Institutional or simple doesn’t matter if He is the focus. We are all called to be that kind of minister. The abundant one anothers of scripture all lead us to one place: filled with the fullness of Him who fills all, in all. That is true for each and every believer. The fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Him and now He dwells in us. Let’s be his body and walk in faith together. What do ya say?
Numbing our souls with church activities
Church people are busy. Sundays are obviously filled with activities. In most churches, there are also weekday Bible studies, evangelism classes, choir practice, activities for teenagers and children, Moms groups, Men’s meetings, outdoors enthusiast clubs, discipleship classes, and any number of additional activities.
A few years ago, when we started meeting together, we decided to forgo almost all of these programs. In fact, we only scheduled one weekly meeting for the church, and we decided that meeting would take place on Sunday mornings.
Something interesting happened when our calendars began to empty… and our lives became less busy. We had to deal with real issues, personal issues, relational issues, marital issues, parenting issues, financial issues, etc.
Why were people not dealing with those issues before? Because they had been so busy with church activities that they were able to hide those issues from others and, often, from themselves. They were busy doing church things – which were certainly God things, right? – that they did not have time to think about what was really going on inside and among themselves.
In some ways, our souls were numbed to all of the painful issues that we should have been dealing with, because we were so busy doing good things.
In fact, we soon found that even though we were taking part in evangelism classes, we were not really sharing the gospel. Even though we were part of Bible studies and discipleship classes, we were not learning and living Scripture or discipling one another. Even though we were taking part in classes for children, teenagers, moms, and dads, our families were not strong and were not maturing together in Christ. Even though we were spending time together, we were not actually relating to one another.
Our lives and our families and our relationships were not filled with Christ. The only thing that was filled was our calendars.
When we stopped pretending that we were doing good things – that is, when we stopped attending classes and programs – we learned how empty our lives really were, and we began to look for the reality of life in Christ with one another. Now, we had time to love and serve and evangelize and grow and mature together.
This may sound great to some of my readers, but I have a warning for you. Those classes and programs were acting as an anesthetic, numbing our souls. When we cleared our calendars, we did more than free our time. We also disclosed to ourselves, to our families, and to one another the emptiness and pain that was hidden within. This part was not fun.
But, I’m convinced that the church will not grow until we face these hidden hurts; until we accept that we don’t know how to love and serve and evangelize and care and share and grow and mature. We don’t know how, because we’ve never taken the time to learn. We’ve never taken the time to learn because we’ve been too busy doing good things – church things.
But, in reality, those good church things were numbing our souls and keeping us from growing.
No preaching, but plenty of teaching, encouragement, and discussion
I studied Act 3 last week. Why? Because as a church we’ve decided that we are going to study Acts together. So far, we studied through Acts 2 together, so yesterday we were planning to study Acts 3.
I was not scheduled to teach. In fact, another one of our brothers had said that he wanted to lead our study through Acts 3 yesterday. But, I studied anyway. Why? Because it’s not just “the teacher’s” responsibility to teach. So, I prepared to meet with my brothers and sisters by studying the passage during the week.
So, when we gathered together yesterday, it was clear that the one teaching was not the only person who had studied the passage. It was clear that he and I were not the only ones who had studied the passage.
I learned alot from the brother who had agreed to teach us. But, I also learned alot from several other brothers and sister who added what they had learned from the passage.
In fact, since I was able to hear from different people with different perspectives based on their own study, their experiences, their situation in life, and many other factors, I think I came away with a broader understanding of that passage.
And, I was challenged… man, was I challenged. What an example Luke provided for us in Acts 3!
We finally had to stop talking about the passage after an hour or so. But, of course, the conversation and encouragement continued in smaller groups of 2 and 3 while we ate lunch together.
So, no one preached Sunday. No one brought a monologue lecture. But, there was plenty of focus on Scripture with plenty of teaching, encouragement, and discussion!
Can a traditional church allow more participation?
I’ve enjoyed reading Chris’s blog “The Amplified Life.” He writes about both concepts and practices. I love that!
One of his latest posts is called “Open Sharing in a More Traditional Setting.”
Chris admits at the beginning of the post that they are the typical traditional church in America. But, recently, they’ve started allow others in the church the opportunity to speak.
Here is part of his description:
Whenever we begin the sharing time I open by saying, “Does anyone have any words of encouragement, testimonies, praises or prayer requests? What is God doing in our lives?” I specifically use that order because (1) I want people to be encouraged to share their “God stories” with the community; (2) it is important for others to hear what God is doing around us; (3) and while prayer is a great gift and very important, I don’t want it to turn into “Please pray for my aunt’s, nephew’s, brother’s, son’s, best friend’s sister’s pet gerbil.”
For the first few months we received mostly, if not all prayer requests. But then gradually we began to have others share some testimony. Then others would share a word of encouragement. Now, through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, it has taken on a life of it’s own. Sometimes we have taken 10-15 minutes during our “traditional” worship time to share what God has done and is doing and what we are praying to see God do. the feedback from the community is that it has become or is becoming one of their favorite aspects of our corporate gathering.
Now, I know that some of my readers are part of more organic churches that allow participation by anyone while they are meeting together. But, while you may think this group of believers has a long way to go, don’t overlook the fact that they are moving in a direction that is contrary to the traditional church in America.
And why are they doing this? Just for the sake of changing and being different? No! They are making this change because they believe it better aligns with what they’ve found in Scripture. (Chris talks about some of these passages of Scripture in his post.)
I praise God that these people have decided that it’s important for a larger part of the church to take part in the meetings, and they’ve started moving in that direction!
Do you know of other traditional churches who have made this kind of change, or one similar to it?
Replay: He who promised is faithful… Even during church meetings?
Four years ago, I wrote a post called “He who promised is faithful.” The post was inspired by another blog post and a passage of Scripture in Hebrews 10:23-25. Can we follow the commands and descriptions of church meetings in Scripture and trust God to take care of things? Or, do we have to make sure that we’re in control of the meetings?
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The title of this post comes from the book of Hebrews:
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23 ESV)
I thought of this verse when I read Ted’s post (from “Jesus community“) called “established in uncertainty“. Ted talks about the dynamic life we have in Christ by the Spirit. He says:
This is a reality in which many number of things are going on at the same time. God is working on the individual parts in getting along with each other in love, in holiness of life. And there is a work of learning how to grow, live and serve together, in mission to the world.
All of this involves becoming established in uncertainty. We don’t know what lies ahead in a day, or a week, a month or a year- and beyond. But we are willing to trust that in it all God’s will can be done in our lives, as we seek and choose that will over our own and for the true good of the world, including ourselves.
We like predictability and easy “cookie cutter” ways. But God’s ways are different. We inevitably will meet new struggles, opportunities, issues, etc., in those around us we know, as well as in our own lives.
This post came at an important time in my life. I have talked with many people who are concerned with the freedom and “unscriptedness” of the type of church meeting that we find in 1 Corinthians 14 (see “What do we do with 1 Corinthians 14” and that series).
We when we meet with other believers, and no one is scheduled to “preach” and no one is scheduled to “lead worship” and no one is schedule to read Scripture and no one is scheduled to pray… can we trust God?
Now, granted, Hebrews 10:23 is not about the church meeting. But, if we can trust God for our salvation, can we also trust Him to keep order when everyone is free to speak according to Paul’s parameters in 1 Corinthians 14?
Please note that I am not talking about a failure to plan – Paul includes the possibility of planning in 1 Corinthians 14:26. But, what if we allowed believers to plan and prepare as God directs. Also, I’m not talking about a lack of accountability. But, what if we allowed each believer to hold his or her brothers and sisters accountable? Can we trust God for this?
I know, we like to come into a church meeting, find a place to sit, open the bulletin, and know exactly what is going to happen. We feel uneasy and off-balance when we do not know who has prepared to speak and who has prepared a song. But, can we trust God with this also?
We know what we like and what we want. But, do we dare ask what God wants? Do we dare ask how he desires for the church to meet? Could it be that the only image we have in Scripture of a meeting of the church (1 Corinthians 14) is there because that is how God wants us to meet? Can we trust God in this? Is He faithful even in this?
When a church building is just one place among many
I’ve already suggested that it would be more healthy for churches if Sunday became just one day among other days and leaders became just one person among the church.
There’s another focus for many modern churches that can be dangerous: the focus on a particular place or building. Often, this is a church building that is used not only for meetings for almost all other service performed by the church. In fact, the church often finds its identity in the building itself. (Oh, no, they would not say that. But listen to what people say when church buildings are destroyed.)
In Scripture, churches met in many different locations. Then, they served others wherever they met them: in homes, in the market place, and yes, in the temple.
When the church focuses too much on meeting and serving in one particular building, we begin to lose the wonder and glory of the fact that God is with us always and everywhere.Often, you will see this combined with people asking God to “come to” this place or “meet with them” in this place. This is nonsense for the follower of Christ!
There is no place that we can go where we will not be in the presence of God. We are the temple of God, and God dwells and remains with each of his children. And, thus, any place becomes a place for serving others in order to give glory to God.
Get out of the building. Go to people. And serve God where the people are.