Desperate Need For Community

The news story was one that no one wanted to hear. Police had been called to a house to investigate a 911 call. It appeared to be a murder-suicide tragedy. 

Sadness creeps in…

Then you find out that the victims in this story were an elderly couple. 

Sadness grows deeper…

If the news that this tragic event involves an elderly couple was not enough, it is released that this couple was identified by neighbors as a retired pastor from the area. 

That’s just too much…

I wish that I could say that the scene that I have just discribed was fictional and completely made up. The truth is that this is a news story that has impacted an area close to where we live within the past week. 

Alongside the sadness that this story brings stands a gigantic question: What led to this?

The part of this news story that has got my stomach in knots is that the apparent reason behind this murder-suicide is that “the couple’s health was fleeting and they struggled to take care of each other.”

Read that again… “the couple’s health was fleeting and they struggled to take care of each other.” 

My wife and I have recently been talking about the biblical mandate of community among the Body of Christ. If there is one thing that has been struggling in many churches, it is the practice of biblical community. 

This tragic news story should be an alarm for all churches: we desperately need community! 

I know that we have busy schedules. I am as guilty as anyone of putting too much on my plate. This does not excuse us from doing what we have been commanded by our Lord to do: 

I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.  (John 13:34-35 CSB)

Jesus was not talking to the masses when he spoke those words. He was speaking to his disciples. The way they cared for and loved one another would be one of the greatest witnessing tools the Church would have. It would be an undeniable characteristic of those who belong to Jesus. 

This whole thing has brought three prayers to my mind:

• I pray that this story is an anomaly. I pray that this is not one of many stories that show that the Church is not doing as well with “community/fellowship” as we thought we were. 
• I pray that the Holy Spirit would comfort the family at this time and bring healing. Can’t imagine the pain they are going through at this time. 
• I pray the Church would not be blind to the desperate need of community. May we not be fooled into thinking that meeting one-two hours on a Sunday morning constitutes community. It didn’t work for the Church in the first century, and it will not work in the 21st century. 

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Maundy Thursday 2017

 

As we continue our journey to Resurrection Sunday, we find ourselves in the middle of “Maundy Thursday” of “Holy Week.”  It is a remembrance of when Jesus Christ shared a final meal with His disciples before His crucifixion.

The word “maundy” is derived from the Latin word for “command.”  John’s gospel gives some details that the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) do not have about this moment.  One was the picture of Jesus washing His disciple’s feet as a sign of what every follower of Jesus should do (serve).

I give you a new command: Love one another.  Just as I have love you, you are also to love one another.  (John 13:34  CSB)

This is the command that is referred to with the name “Maundy Thursday.”  It was thought that Jesus gave this command on the day/night before He was arrested.

The big thing that is associated with this day is the institution of the Lord’s Supper.  It was on the night before Jesus was betrayed by one of His closest followers that Jesus celebrated a final meal with His disciples.  It was at this meal that Jesus set a mark that would be carried out by the Church ever since.

It is interesting to me that for His final message before betrayal, Jesus chose to use the classroom of a table.  He didn’t go to the Temple or a synagogue.  He simply gathered those who would be responsible for carrying on His mission, and He got them around a table to share a meal.  The table is a place where your guard is down.  The table is a place where you share and talk about what’s at the depth of your heart as you fill your stomach with that which is provided by God.

On that night, Jesus used a very common scene (dinner around a table) and a common meal at that time, and He made the ordinary extraordinary.  He would take a common piece of bread and break it before His disciples to show what was about to happen to Him.  He wasn’t looking forward to it, but He didn’t want His followers to be scratching their heads when God’s plan unfolded.  He would take a cup of wine and use it an illustration for the blood that He was about to shed for the forgiveness of sins.  One of the greatest teaching moments ever was done around a dinner table with friends.

What does our dinner tables look like?  Are they just a place that we run to in order to fill our stomachs?  Do we take the opportunities that are right in front of us to gather around a table and share moments, dreams, heartaches, and more?  Jesus did, and I’ve always thought that He was a pretty good example to follow.  Remember, the command that He gave that day was to love one another as we were loved by Him (John 13:34).  Take time to make the moments around a table with family and/or friends one that will be remembered for much more than the food that goes into our bellies.

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Good Time With Friends

Yesterday, being Memorial Day, was a time of remembering and hanging out with some good friends.  We were invited by some of our faith family to come over and enjoy some good eating and swimming.  We excitedly accepted the invitation.  All day, I was looking forward to going over there and hanging out with this family.

When 4pm rolled around, we began the never boring task of getting our three boys together and heading over to this fellowship.  We were welcomed with open arms and didn't take long to make a splash as the temps were edging close to 100. As we swam, more and more people showed up bringing goodies and smiles.  It was a great time around that pool as the conversations carried on and memories were made.

It was as this wonderful afternoon was winding down that it struck me: this is why fellowship is so important in the church. If we just get together to sing some songs and listen to a sermon once or twice a week, can we really call ourselves a family?  Can we really say that we are living in "community" (which is what the definition of fellowship is in the Bible) if we aren't living life together with one another?  This is an area that we are looking to build up and make a major priority within our faith family at New Life Fellowship. If we are going to be all that Christ has called us to be, we have to build one another up in community (Ephesians 4:25-32).

What do you do with your local church family to build community?

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Friendships

The past couple of days have been a great time for my wife and I. We have had the opportunity to spend time with some great friends. Thursday, we had dinner and shared some laughs with a young family in our faith family. Yesterday, we got to have lunch with some good friends who we do not get to see very often. Today, we will celebrate the birthday of one our best friends' daughter at their house.

This all seems so casual and "no big deal," but when you have not had many close friends over the past few years, it's a HUGE deal. Though we have been surrounded by people on every side, it has not been easy building friendships with others.

I've heard it said that those in ministry have a hard time building quality friendships with others because of various reasons. I know that there have been numerous things that have tried to keep us from building some good, quality friendships.

I am so thankful for the friends that I have personally. I know that I can speak on behalf of our family in saying that we thank God for the good friends we have. We also look forward to making some new friendships that we can celebrate later down the road.

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Christianese Part 2

A few days ago, I wrote about how some terms are used within the church and few actually know what they mean.  Those within the church long for outsiders to come in and experience the joy of Christ (or at least I would hope so), but what if they come in only to struggle with interpreting the language.  One reason I don't jump on every opportunity to visit Japan is that I don't have the slightest clue with their language.  Many non-churchgoers are the same way with the church.  This isn't just something that outsiders struggle with.  Many people within the church are going along "smiling and nodding."

Here's a couple of terms that I've thought about over the past couple of days:

• Believe.  Now this may come across as a shock but many are confused on the meaning of this term.  To the average person, to believe means to acknowledge that it exists.  What the church usually means by believe is to place one's trust in to the point that it determines the direction of your life.


• Repent (also repentance). This is a word that many long to hear in the sermons at their church, but few actually get the meaning.  The real meaning is to have a change of mind that causes a change in behavior.  As the old illustration goes, you're going in one direction, you stop and immediately go in the opposite direction, never to turn back again.


• Amen.  This word has baffled me for years.  We all say it at the end of our prayers.  Some are even bold enough to say it during the pastor's sermon.  What is the meaning of this word though?  It literally means "so be it" or "let it be so."  This can be a very dangerous word.    When you say this word, you are literally joining yourself together with what is being said.  Maybe we should be more careful with this one.  Maybe we should be using it more?


• Flesh.  This term can easily confuse many.  Outside of church, it refers to the muscle, tendons, and other make-up of a person's body.  The church's use of this is something completely different.  The church uses this term as the nature of humanity.  When a pastor tells the congregation that we should crucify the flesh and live for the spirit, for someone who is thinking about having to get some nails and perform the crucifixion again, this can be very disturbing.


• Fellowship.  As I think about this term, I laugh to myself.  I am a part of a Southern Baptist church and have been most of my life.  This term brings to mind one thing: food.  I don't know where in the world the church got off track with this, but it's not about food.  Don't get me wrong, I love food... food can be a part of fellowship, but eating together is not fellowship.  Fellowship according to the New Testament is about living life together.  You can read about how the believers spent all kinds of time together in Acts.  This was fellowship.


• Discipleship.  This term I have struggled with for about three years now.  I think that a lot of people have an okay idea about it in our churches, but I think that many miss the boat completely in executing it.  This is the process of taking a person to the next step in their walk with Christ.  Discipleship begins at the point where a person follows Jesus Christ and doesn't end until they enter heaven.  Discipleship is hindered when we try to put people who are at different levels in their spiritual walk together into one group and make a leader "disciple" them all for an hour one day a week.  This is an area of the church that needs to be carefully done.  It is essential to the health of the Body of Christ (the church).

I will stop there for now.  I have many more that I could share.  What about you?  What are some terms that you hear frequently at church but aren't sure what they mean?

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