The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Fellowship (Page 5 of 17)

4 Amarillo

May 23, 2013 / / 4 Comments

Four guys walk into a bar: a Baptist, a Methodist, a Church of Christ, and a Presbyterian… that’s a joke.

Four sets of ministers and elders walk into a church building to pray: Baptist, Methodist, Church of Christ, and Presbyterian… that’s not a joke. It’s the holy will of our God and a magnificent witness to our city of the power of Jesus! And it’s happening this evening!

“I pray also for those who will believe in me through [the apostles’] message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” ~John 17:20-23

We believe that it is God’s will that all his children, all disciples of his Son, be reconciled. We think God’s great desire is for all Christians to be brought together as a powerful witness to the world of his love and peace. You know, this is in our Church of Christ DNA. It was established in the opening lines of Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address, the charter document for our Restoration Movement, written in August 1809:

“That it is the grand design and native tendency of our holy religion to reconcile and unite men to God and to each other in truth and love to the glory of God and their own present and eternal good will not, we presume, be denied by any of the genuine subjects of Christianity.”

The whole document is about reconciliation, the kind of reconciliation that drives God’s eternal plans. The very ministry of reconciliation he’s given those of us who profess our faith in him. The words in the document are bold and aggressive. And they ring with undeniable beauty and truth. They call for a swift end to all divisions among those who follow Jesus:

“Has the Captain of Salvation sounded a desist from pursuing this deadly enemy that is sheathing its sword in the very bowels of Christ’s Church, rending and mangling his mystical body to pieces? Has he said to his servants, ‘Let it alone?’ If not, where is the warrant for a  cessation of endeavors to have it removed?”

Campbell claims that tearing down the walls and uniting with all our brothers and sisters in Christ is a matter of universal right, a duty belonging to every citizen of Zion. And while the work will be difficult and the opposition will come mainly from within the church establishment, Campbell says it is God’s will. It is the Church’s will. It is the will of those who’ve gone before us:

“Both the mighty and the many are with us. The Lord himself, and all that are truly his people, are declaredly on our side. The prayers of all the churches, nay, the prayers of Christ himself, and of all that have ascended to his heavenly Kingdom, are with us.”

I thank God for the Campbells and the Stones and the other giants of the faith who latched on to God’s holy will as revealed to us in Scripture and would. not. let. go. I thank God for the ecumenical spirit of the Central Church of Christ toward our brothers and sisters in other Christian churches in our city. I’m grateful for the willingness here — the eagerness! — to unite with other Christ-followers.

This evening, the Central elders and ministers are meeting at Polk Street Methodist Church with their elders and ministers and with the elders and ministers from First Baptist and First Presbyterian to spend one-and-a-half hours together in prayer. We are forming an alliance, a partnership. We’re calling it “4 Amarillo.” It’s a hopefully obvious play on words. Four churches breaking down our walls, putting aside our differences to unite for the sake of our city.

We’re not 100% sure what this looks like yet. This August, we want to join together to serve our downtown area elementary schools. We’d like to serve and worship together during the Thanksgiving and Easter holidays. We’re going to swap pulpits with one another. We’re thinking we’d like to build some Habitat for Humanity houses together.

We do believe that this partnership between denominations will be a powerful witness to our city that Jesus really is the Prince of Peace, that he really does possess the power to reconcile and unite. Jesus says in the middle of Matthew 18 that if two or three people will come together and agree on anything, he’ll show up just to see that! And we believe he will.

Whatever good comes from this alliance, we know it must begin in prayer. So that’s what we’re doing tonight at Polk Street Methodist. We’re going to pray. We’re going to commit to one another — all four churches — as brothers and sisters in Christ. We’re going to pledge in prayer that we will not be competitive, that we will not be territorial, that we will see our downtown area as the part of the Kingdom of God we’ve been given to serve together. And we’re going to submit the whole thing to our God. In prayer, we’re going to give our partnership, our efforts, our projects, all of it to our merciful Father for his purposes and to his eternal glory and praise.

It starts tonight. I have only hopes and dreams of where it might be going. But it starts tonight.

Peace,

Allan

We Belong To The Lord

May 8, 2013 / / 0 Comments

I want to continue our important discussion here regarding the silence of Scripture and its place in our American Restoration Movement history and current beliefs and practices. As it relates to the maddening question of whether biblical silence on a particular issue is prohibitive or permissive, please check out this video clip from a Rick Atchley sermon illustration. I quoted one of my favorite Rick Atchley lines in Monday’s post, and a friend reminded me this morning of Rick’s “chair illustration.” I’ve seen Rick do this at least a couple of times. It’s a beautifully simple and strikingly clear demonstration of the absurdity of our traditional approach to the silence in Scripture. And it inarguably proves that this default approach actually prevents any type of Christian unity among our churches; it actually leads to and fosters ugly and sinful divisions.

When you have more time, you might also check out this recent 26-minute presentation by my brilliant brother, Dr. Keith Stanglin, on the fourth and fifth propositions of Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address. Keith argues that Campbell’s document, which most consider as the foundational document for the Restoration Movement and Churches of Christ, fundamentally rejects both the Old Testament and church history as formative and informative for our congregations. Keith makes a compelling case for paying careful attention to all of church history as we prayerfully make decisions for our own churches and denominations today. The lecture is in two parts on YouTube: click here for part one and click here for part two. (Thank you, Keith, for pointing out that the use of unleavened bread for communion is a tenth century innovation of the western church.) After watching Keith, you’ll understand why I always say I got the looks and he got the brains.

While I’ve got you here, I’ll direct you to my great friend Jim Martin’s post, written for Dan Bouchelle’s blog, on why he continues to preach.

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Paul’s thoughts in Romans 14:1-15:7 are summed up in a couple of places in that passage. In 14:17 he claims that “the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Later, in 14:22, Paul commands “whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.” The conclusion must be that it’s OK to have strong opinions and beliefs about certain things as they relate to Christ Jesus and his Kingdom, but that those opinions and practices must never be bound on other Christians.

But what about “salvation issues?” Oh, I can hear it now. In fact, I hear it quite often. What about matters of doctrine? What about the important things?

Yeah, that’s where it gets touchy. Because if two Christians are arguing about something and the argument and the feelings are such that it’s dividing them and threatening to divide their church, then, of course, one or both of them believe with all their heart that it’s a doctrinal or salvation issue. But, Paul says, that’s OK, too.

“One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, does to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” ~Romans 14:5-8

Each of us should be fully convinced in our minds that what we’re doing is the right thing to do in the eyes of God. Yes. But don’t bind that on another brother who doesn’t feel the same way. If he practices something different, Paul assumes you’re both doing it to the Lord, before the Lord, in the presence of the Lord, to the glory of the Lord, and with a clear conscience. We assume that my sister with a different belief or a different practice is not believing or practicing arbitrarily. She’s doing it with careful study and reflection and prayer. And she’s fully convinced in her mind that she’s doing the right thing. So, everything’s fine.

But, somebody will still say, “What if we’re talking about a salvation issue?”

What in the world is a ‘salvation issue?’ Will somebody please tell me what a ‘salvation issue’ is? We get into discussions about ‘salvation issues’ and we start ranking things in order of importance to God, in terms of what’s going to save us or condemn us. And we’ll talk about baptism and church and the authority of Scripture and worship styles, but we’ll never talk about helping the poor or being kind to your enemy. Scripture says those are actually the heavier issues. They’re all salvation issues! Everything we do is a salvation issue! That’s why the heart is the most important thing. The attitude is the most important matter. For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking…

Paul is calling for unity in spirit, not unity in opinion, not unity in practice, not even unity in belief. And he’s dealing with what at that time in that church were huge issues. Unity comes with where your heart is, what’s your motivation, what drives you, who you are thinking about.

Paul clearly identifies himself as one of the “strong” Christians. But, again, it’s interesting to me that he doesn’t say the “weak” need to change their minds or their opinions or practices. His prayer is not that all the Christians in Rome come to the same opinions on these disputable matters. No. He’s praying that they may possess a unity of spirit that transcends their differences.

Peace,

Allan

Declaration and Address

April 3, 2013 / / 2 Comments

“Yu Are Kidding Me!”

Go ahead and submit your best Skip Bayless headline for last night’s near-no-no-perfecto for Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish. He was unbelievable in Houston last night, coming within one out from only the second perfect game in franchise history. In the months leading up to Yu’s major league debut last season, we were all told that he had command of five different pitches. It seemed like hyperbole back then. Last night, it was reality. Yu did whatever he wanted to last night, mixing 94-mph heaters and 76-mph breakers with curves and sliders and another weird off-speed thing I’m not sure what to call. The Astros didn’t have a chance. Yu fanned fourteen, he was only hit hard twice that I saw, and he showed almost no emotion or effort in the process. He was cruising with just one out to go — two down, bottom of the ninth — when the Astros number nine batter in the lineup, a shortstop who spells his first name wrong, smashed the first pitch right back through the five hole. Base hit. Ruined the perfect game. Ruined the no-hitter. Darvish came within two inches of blocking the liner between his legs, but the bid for perfection was over.

Darvish is good. Oh, my word, he’s good and he’s fun to watch. He’ll be on again this coming Sunday night on national TV against Josh Hamilton and the Halos. He may never get that close again to a no-hitter. Or he may wind up throwing three or four in his career; right now he looks that good. Either way, just like last night, if and when it happens, Whitney and I will be hanging together on every pitch.

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Our Sunday morning adult Bible classes here at Central are discussing Holloway and Foster’s “Renewing God’s People: A Concise History of Churches of Christ.” Chapter four introduces us to Thomas and Alexander Campbell, a father and son team of Scottish Presbyterian ministers who sailed to America in 1807-1809 with hopes of restoring God’s Church. Like Barton Stone, they longed for Christian unity. They despised denominational labels and divisive creeds. They viewed the different Christian sects as abominations and affronts to the true Gospel of Christ.

Upon arriving in Pennsylvania, Thomas was assigned to preach at a church in the western part of the state and promptly got in trouble with the board for allowing Presbyterians of every stripe to participate in communion. Old Light Presbyterian, New Light Presbyterian, Anti-Burgher Presbyterian, Seceder Presbyterian — it didn’t matter to Campbell. He opened up communion to everybody at his church and wound up being forced out by the synod.

Campbell began an inter-denominational Bible study group that grew into what they called the Christian Association of Washington, Pennsylvania. They were committed to Christian unity, to renouncing all man-made creeds and following the Bible only, and to abolishing all distinctions between denominations. In 1809, the group commissioned Campbell to write a document outlining the purpose of their organization and its plan for unity among all Christians. So he penned the Declaration and Address, the most widely known of our Church of Christ founding documents.

Doug Foster has re-written the document’s thirteen propositions into today’s contemporary English, which makes navigating the text a little easier. You can find it by clicking here.

It would be really easy to write a different blog post for each of the thirteen statements. They are that rich, that good. I may do that someday. For our purposes today, allow me to hit just a few highlights.

Definition of God’s Church -Proposition One attempts to lay the ground rules for determining who’s in and who’s out. According to this opening idea, the Church is made up of everyone “who has faith in Christ and is trying to follow him in the ways God’s Spirit in scripture has told us, and who others can see are being transformed into his likeness by the way they act.” Notice, there are only two or three requirements Campbell says are necessary to being considered a member of Jesus’ Church. If one puts his faith for salvation in God through Christ, is actively submitting to the Lordship of Jesus and following him, and is obviously bearing Holy Spirit fruit, he’s in! Proposition Eight restates the idea in a little different wording, reminding that “having an understanding of every Christian truth is not a requirement to be a Christian, a part of God’s Church… All a person needs to know to be a part of Christ’s Church is that they are lost and that salvation is through Christ. When they confess that they believe in Christ and that they want to obey him fully according to his word — nothing else can be required.” Similarly, Proposition Nine identifies brothers and sisters in Christ as those who “confess belief in Christ and commit to obey him and who show the reality of their commitments by the way they live.”

Christian Unity – Proposition Two admits that it’s impossible for all Christians all over the world to physically worship and serve together, so there have to be local groups of disciples in a variety of different cultures and contexts. “These groups will not all look think, or act alike,” Campbell writes, “yet they are all part of Christ’s Church and ought to recognize it. They must accept and embrace each other just as Christ has accepted each one of us.” How do you achieve Christian unity? How do you bring people together who don’t believe or practice their Christianity exactly alike? Campbell says by obeying the “Rule of Christ.” These Christians from different backgrounds, in different places, with different ideas and practices should be “willing to give themselves for those Christ died to redeem.”

Against Division – The strongest language in the Declaration and Address comes in Proposition Ten which prohibits the dividing of Christ’s Church into denominations: “Division among Christians is a sickening evil, filled with many evils. It is anti-Christian because it destroys the visible unity of the Body of Christ. It is as if Christ were cutting off parts of himself and throwing them away from the rest of his body! What a ludicrous picture! Division is anti-scriptural, since Christ himself specifically prohibited it, making it a direct violation of Christ’s will. It is anti-natural, because it makes Christians condemn, hate, and oppose one another — people who are actually obligated in the strongest way to love each other as sisters and brothers, just like Christ loved them. In other words, division repudiates everything Christianity is supposed to stand for.” The following proposition claims that divisions and corruptions in the church are a result of neglect or a misunderstanding of God’s will that we have the mind of Christ and be transformed into his holy image. A secondary reason is that some Christians assume they are right in their beliefs and practices and try to “impose their conclusions on others as terms of recognition and fellowship.”

Interpreting the Bible – Another major theme running through the Declaration and Address is the correct way to read and interpret the Bible. Campbell upholds both the Old and New Testaments as essential parts of God’s holy Word and the only authority over God’s Church. Therefore, Proposition Three maintains “nothing should be required to recognize, fellowship, embrace, work, worship, and be fully and visibly united with all Christians that is not specifically made a requirement by God in the Word.” But he makes it very clear that, as a friend of mine once said, “The Bible is not a cook book of recipes, it’s a description of a great feast.” In Proposition Four, Campbell states that the “Bible is not primarily a constitution that functions as a legal document to consult in legal disputes. It is, instead, the sword of the Spirit; it is a place where we encounter God’s Spirit and are transformed increasingly into the likeness of Christ.” So, “The Bible does not spell out in detail everything Christians are supposed to think, do, or be — that is just not the nature of Scripture,” according to Proposition Five. “When there are specific actions Christians are told to take, there is almost never a set of detailed requirements for how to do it.”

It’s a powerful document. Strong. Rich. Inspiring. The American Restoration Movement, of which Churches of Christ are a part, is founded on this document. I hope someday to have a really nice copy of these thirteen propositions, in their original 19th century language, framed and on display in a prominent place in our church building. We need to be reading these things. We need to be compelled all over again by the same passions for Christian unity for the sake of the world that drove our ancestors. We need to repent of the evil divisions among Christian denominations that have proclaimed a most anti-Christian message to the world for centuries. We need to pray for a revived interest in the unity of all disciples for the everlasting purposes of the Kingdom of God. And we need to work — man, we need to work — to sacrifice and serve, to accept and forgive, to tear down walls and break down barriers between us so the world will finally see that our Prince of Peace really is who he claims to be.

Peace,

Allan

Pray More and Dispute Less

March 27, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Last week’s Tulsa Workshop (excellent, as always!) has put me a little behind on tracking in this space with our adult Bible classes here at Central as we study together “Renewing God’s People.” I’ll try to get caught up here before the weekend hits.

Chapter three of Doug Foster’s concise history of the Churches of Christ, Renewing God’s People, introduces us to Barton W. Stone, a co-founder of what has been called by historians the Stone-Campbell Movement or the American Restoration Movement. Stone was a college-educated Presbyterian minister who, in August 1801, participated with other Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist preachers in the largest and most famous camp meeting revival in American history. The success of the Cane Ridge Revival added fuel to the restoration fires of the time and influenced Stone to withdraw from the Transylvania Presbytery to begin the non-denominational Springfield Presbytery. It was an effort to promote Christian unity, to tear down the denominational walls that divide disciples of Jesus, to faithfully express the Gospel as it’s described in Ephesians 4: “There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope when you were called — one Lord, one faith, one baptism…”

But after just a few months, it became apparent to Stone and his colleagues that their Springfield Presbytery was just another sectarian division among many. It was working against the Christian unity they so strongly desired. So they broke it up. And the document that proclaimed the dissolution of their organization became one of the two most important founding documents for Churches of Christ. The opening lines of The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery quoted from Ephesians four and declared that they would “sink into union with the Body of Christ at large.” They renounced all denominational names of distinction; no more Baptists or Reverends, no more Presbyterians or Fathers. They called for a return to the Bible as the only authority for Christians and God’s Church, “the only sure guide to heaven.” The document affirms the autonomy of each congregation of Christian believers, liberating all churches to “adopt the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” They claim that no governing body has the authority to decide anything for a group of churches, that “our power of making laws for the government of the church, and executing them by delegated authority, forever cease.”

Above all, Stone used the document to call for the unity of all Christian believers. “We will,” he writes, “that preachers and people cultivate a spirit of mutual forebearance; pray more and dispute less.”

Pray more and dispute less.

Sigh.

I’m convinced that one reason we in Churches of Christ got so far off track with the initial and Holy Spirit-inspired vision of Christian unity is that we so horribly distorted that Ephesians 4 passage that’s quoted in Stone’s Last Will and Testament. Consider…

I belong to a 750-member congregation in Amarillo; my parents belong to a 400-member congregation in East Texas; my friends David and Olivia belong to a twelve-member congregation that meets in their apartment in Kharkov, Ukraine; my friends Rick & Jaime Atchley belong to a 4,000-member congregation in Fort Worth; my friends Alaor and Miriam belong to a 90-member congregation in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Many, many different expressions of the one church. Those different expressions don’t diminish the truth of “one church” or “one body.”

I was baptized at eleven years old in a heated baptistry in a church building in Dallas; others are baptized as teenagers in a freezing creek at Camp Blue Haven; others are baptized at the age of 80 in crowded apartment bathtubs in Beijing; others are baptized in swimming pools. Many, many different expressions of one baptism. Those different expressions don’t diminish the truth of “one baptism.”

Most Sundays I eat a cracker crumb and sip some grape juice while sitting in a pew and call it communion. Most Sunday nights, I break off a huge chunk of bread and chug a big swig of juice around my kitchen table with our small group and call it communion. During a flu outbreak or a bird virus scare, we’ll eat little pre-broken chicklet-size pieces of cracker. Tortillas at a camp out in Colorado. Peta or flat bread in Peru. Many, many expressions of our Lord’s one meal. Those different expressions don’t diminish the truth of the one Lord’s Supper.

So, when did we start reading Ephesians 4:3-6 like this: “There is one expression of the body and one expression of the Spirit… one expression of faith, one expression of baptism?” And when did we start ripping this foundational passage completely away from its powerful context of unity? When did we start ignoring the opening lines: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love?”

Is our mighty God, who is One, not the God and Father of all this? Is he not over all this? And through all this? And in all this?

Yes, there is only one baptism; and God is over it, not you. Yes, there is only one Church; and God is in charge of it, not you. Yes, there really is only one faith; and our God is delighted that there are so many different expressions of that faith out there. Barton Stone called on all Christians to see the big picture of God’s eternal Kingdom, to see the beauty of divinely-ordained diversity, to experience the power of his love that destroys all the barriers that separate his children. The only way Stone believed we would ever get close to realizing it this side of glory would be to pray more and dispute less.

Peace,

Allan

Religious Freedom: Part Two

March 13, 2013 / / 0 Comments

In our Sunday morning Bible classes here at Central, we’re studying the history of our Churches of Christ within what is called the American Restoration Movement. The hope and prayer is that we, in the words of Doug Foster, “raise our historical spiritual consciousness,” that we come to understand how our distinctive faith and doctrines and practices have been shaped by particular history and culture in order to better grasp the founding vision of our movement and make a deliberate turn back to the best parts. And if you’ve made it past those two sentences to this one, congratulations. Sorry about that.

We’re using Foster’s book, Renewing God’s People, to guide our study and discussions. I’m sharing the fruits of our study and openly processing some of it in this space. You might look at yesterday’s post if this one’s going to make sense.

It was during the prolific exercising of “religious freedom” in the colonial days of the American frontier when the call for “restoration” became a popular cry among Christians. The denominationalism of the day couldn’t be good for the spread of the Gospel. The constant dividing and splitting and planting and branching probably wasn’t communicating the truth of unity in Christ. There seemed to be no end to the numbers of new churches and new forms of Christianity that were being established in the States based on somebody’s new or different interpretation of the Scriptures. Finally, a few church leaders began questioning whether new churches and new denominations, the exercise of this nationalistic and democratic and individualistic religious freedom, was actually harming their Christian witness. Some religious leaders went so far as to say this denominationalism was a direct affront to the prayer of our Lord in John 17 in which Jesus prays for unity among all believers “so the world may believe.” Denominationalism, in their view, was in fact a sin.

James O’Kelly (1735-1826) was one of these guys. A Methodist preacher in North Carolina and Virginia, O’Kelly openly questioned the power and authority of the bishops in the Methodist church, particularly the two in Baltimore. He balked at the whole bishop system, arguing that each Christian congregation should act democratically, like a republic, to govern its own affairs. His motto was “Bible government, Christian equality, and the Christian name!” In 1793, he formed the “Republican Methodists.” Then he went even farther the next year, dropping the name “Methodists” alltogether. We are only Christians, he said, “Christian” is the only name for disciples of Jesus.

In that same year, 1794, O’Kelly published his Cardinal Principles of the Christian Church:

~ The Lord Jesus Christ is the only Head of the Church

~ The name Christian should be used to the exclusion of all party and sectarian names

~ The Holy Bible is our only creed, and a sufficient rule of faith and practice

~ Christian character is the only test of church fellowship and membership

~ The right of private judgment and liberty of conscience are the privilege and duty of all

~ The union of all followers of Christ to the end that the world may believe

What do you think about those six rules? Is this a fairly decent summary of standards and practices for a Christian church based on the Gospel of Jesus? What would you add to a list like this? What would you subtract? Could a church or a group of churches even function with this type of charter? Could a group of churches — Churches of Christ, maybe — function this way today?

O’Kelly’s churches grew to about ten thousand members in North Carolina and Virginia. They eventually adopted believer’s baptism by immersion as their standard practice and taught that the unity of all Christians is God’s plan for redeeming the world.

At the same time, a group of Baptists in Vermont led by Abner Jones (1772-1841) and another group of Baptists in New Hampshire led by Elias Smith (1769-1846) began to independently proclaim a non-creedal Christianity. They  denounced Calvinism and took the name “Christian” as the only acceptable label for disciples of Jesus. These two, again independently of one another, established at least fourteen churches in the early 1800s.

Funny, huh? Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell weren’t the first ones or the only ones with these kind of ideas. The idea of “restoration,” stripping away what is new and unnecessary to get back to something in its pure and original condition, actually was fairly popular at the turn of the 19th century.  It was being preached and practiced by many. And Jesus’ prayer for unity in John 17 was driving it.

“…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” ~John 17:20-23

Peace,

Allan

Peterson on Community

February 20, 2013 / / 0 Comments

God meets us in community. Jesus saves us in community. The Holy Spirit transforms us in community. The individualism of our culture is a lie devised by the Father of Lies to isolate us and divide us so that we don’t mature into the image of God with which we were created to bear. The more buds we stick in our ears, the more screens we stick in our faces, the more technology moves us away from face-to-face life together, the less likely we are to “attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Skipping small groups Sunday night to finish that work project for Monday morning does you more harm than good. Postponing that lunch with a friend to watch a DVR’ed TV show isn’t the healthiest thing for you. You’re better off waiting in line with people to hand your money to a real live cashier than zipping through a self-checkout station to swipe your card by yourself. Saying ‘no’ to the church potluck in order to eat your own style of food in your own kitchen on your own time is saying ‘no’ to God’s holy design.

I like Eugene Peterson’s angle on Christian community in his book Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places:

Christ plays in the community of people with whom we live, and we want to get in on the play. We see what Christ does in creation and history and we want in on it, firsthand with our families and friends and neighbors.

But difficulties arise. Sooner or later those of us who follow Jesus find ourselves in the company of men and women who also want to get in on it. It doesn’t take us long to realize that many of these fellow volunteers and workers aren’t much to our liking, and some of them we actively dislike — a mixed bag of saints and sinners, the saints sometimes harder to put up with than the sinners. Jesus doesn’t seem to be very discriminating in the children he lets into his kitchen to help with the cooking.

I didn’t come to the conviction easily, but finally there was no getting around it: there can be no maturity in the spiritual life, no obedience in following Jesus, no wholeness in the Christian life apart from an immersion and embrace of community. I am not myself by myself. Community, not the highly vaunted individualism of our culture, is the setting in which Christ is at play.

Living together in community forces a person to sacrifice, to compromise, to give in. It teaches one to share, to serve, to submit to the whole. Life with others encourages a person to think about others, to see somebody else’s point of view, to consider other possibilities. See, community makes us more like Jesus.

I’m pretty sure that’s by design.

Peace,

Allan

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