The Call to Create Community
This is the second of three articles
on “The Simple Way to Fulfill the
Purposes of God in the Earth”. While it is not so simple, it would seem to
be the only way to really produce results. Of course, when we operate in the
power of the Holy Spirit, the simplicity of it all truly comes into play. The Way is a three-fold focus found in the
teachings and activities of Christ:
Making Disciples (see previous
article on “The Mandate of Making
Disciples”)
Creating Community and Building
Kingdom
Today the article is on “The Call to
Create Community.” I want to point to Acts chapter 2 that says, “And all who believed
were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling
their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any
had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and
breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous
hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the
people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being
saved.”
When I use the term ‘community’, I do
not speak of the city or neighborhoods that we live in, though that is one
aspect of community. The first level of community that needs to be understood
and embraced is the natural family and then the spiritual family called the
Church. I will come back later and talk specifically about the natural family
and it’s fundamental value and it’s foundational virtue. But for the sake of
the corporate call, let me focus on the Church community for now. The Church is
to be a community of believers living life in deep and shared relationship with
each other.
In the passage above, we must pay close
attention to something profoundly mentioned here. It says that as a result of
true community being lived out among the believers that new believers were
being added to the church daily. Interesting! In other words, the evangelistic
strategy of the early church was to live in community. The Scriptures also say
in John 13:34-35,
“A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one
another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you
have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
These verses make up a Biblical
mandate for us. They, in principle, expect us as believers to love each other
and reach out through the display of caring community. To disregard this is
literally to live in disobedience to the Word. However, in the Body of Christ,
there are some common distractions! For example,
Focusing on Secular Community Prior
to Spiritual Community
The theme and focus of the church for
years has been to get folks saved and then immediately train them to get others
saved. One of the central reasons for this is the idea that we are in a hurry
due to the soon coming of Jesus Christ.
While we do believe that Jesus is
coming back and it might be soon, I am absolutely convinced that Jesus will not
come back until everyone He has foreknown to salvation has made that decision
for Him. In other words, Jesus is not going to return and leave those chosen
before the foundation of the world hanging! Therefore, it is important to note
that we are not in a hurry.
Being in a hurry causes a panic
mentality in the church that forces evangelism by immature or unprepared
Christians. It also keeps the church from developing as a loving, caring,
covenant community of believers that are called to live in such a way as to
reveal God’s heart for the human race.
To Minister to the culture prior to
the Church is a common distraction. Don’t misunderstand me. I am absolutely
committed to changing the culture to conform to the call of God for His
creation. The Kingdom of God requires that true transformation take place.
However, there is an effort to achieve this without recognizing the need for
the church to fully develop as the legitimate tool to bring about this
change. A mature church is an
effective church. However, maturity can’t develop outside of real community.
There is a need for God’s system of support and divine design to take place
first among His chosen people.
The huge redwood trees in California
are amazing. They are the largest living things on earth and the tallest trees
in the world. Some of them are 300 feet high and more than 2,500 years old. You
would think that trees that large would have a tremendous root system, reaching
down hundreds of feet into the earth. But that is not the case. Redwoods have a
very shallow root system. The roots of these trees are, however, intertwined.
They are tied in with each other; interlocked. Thus, when the storms come and
the winds blow the redwoods still stand. With an interlocking root system they
support and sustain each other. They need one another to survive and thrive. So
do we!
Hence, God has given us His Church,
the body of Christ on earth. When one is baptized into Christ, one is baptized
into the body of Christ. Through Christ we are bound together in a community of
faith. Belonging to Christ we belong to each other. Fellowship with Christ
means fellowship with each other. Through Christ God has made us a family, a living
vibrant community. This is our God-given support system. As such, it is
intended to meet the crucial needs in our lives.
Acts 2:42 tells us that the early Church,
“… devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching and
to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer.” The teaching to which they devoted themselves was that Christ was
crucified and buried but He rose from the dead. The teaching included the
words, actions, and teachings of Christ. The breaking of bread is a reference
to the Lord’s Supper that they observed and other times when they gathered
around a common meal. So, teaching, fellowship, praying and the Lord’s Table
were the focal points of the first Christian community.
In his book The Connecting Church,
Author Randy Frazee writes,
“The experience of authentic community is one of the purposes God
intends to be fulfilled by the church. The writings of Scripture lead one to
conclude that God intends the church, not to be one more bolt on the wheel of
activity in our lives, but the very hub at the center of one’s life.”
In the New Testament, it is clear
that believers needed each other and God expected them to be there for each
other. For that reason we are commanded in Hebrews 10:25 not to, “…Give up meeting together, as some are in the
habit of doing, but let us encourage one another …”
God has a purpose for putting us
together. And as Henri Nouwen points
out, “We are unified by our common weaknesses, our common
failures, our common disappointments and our common inconsistencies.”
Luke informs us that: “All the believers were one in heart and
mind.” They made every effort to be led by God’s Spirit and to think and
act like Christ. Consequently, God used this community of faith to do some
powerful things in the lives of countless believers, living in a pagan, godless
world.
God’s plan hasn’t changed. He still
desires to use His Church to do some powerful things in our lives. Through the
Church God desires that we find strength for the journey, places to minister
and a never-ending source of guidance.
In Leadership magazine, Carl Conner
writes about the dangers of standing alone. A few winters ago, heavy snows hit
North Carolina. Following a wet, six-inch snowfall, it was interesting to see
the effect along I-40. Next to the highway, stood several large groves of tall,
young pine trees. The branches were bowed down with the heavy snow - so low
that branches from one tree were often leaning against the trunk or branches of
another. Where trees stood alone, however, the effect of the heavy snow was
different. The branches had become heavier and heavier. Since there were no
other trees to lean against, the branches snapped. They lay on the ground, dark
and alone in the cold snow.
When the storms of life hit, we need
to be standing close to other Christians. The closer we stand in community, the
more we will be able to hold up. He expects us to support each other during the
storms of life. That is why we need to be an active part of a community of
faith. We need others and they need us.
Being in a community of faith is,
however, not without its difficulties and frustrations. After all, the Church
is made up of sinners. The mark of community - true biblical community - is not
the absence of conflict and difficulties but the presence of a reconciling
spirit. In our natural behavior we all do things to rub others the wrong way
and to offend. We all, at times, will be hurt and we will hurt others. Our old
sinful nature often causes problems.
Nevertheless, we must not back away
from the fellowship of faith. We must make an unwavering commitment to a
community of believers where we can be strengthened, find places of ministry
and receive much needed guidance.
The reality of life is not unlike
that of a group of porcupines that the famous philosopher Schopenhauer once
used to make a point. A group of porcupines were marooned one bitter cold night
in the middle of a large frozen field. There was no way to escape the biting
wind. They could not burrow into the frozen ground. As they huddled together to
keep warm, their sharp quills began to pinch and hurt. The closer they moved
together, the more the pain increased. Some of the animals could not bear the
pain and drew apart to sleep alone. In the morning those who moved away in
isolation had frozen to death.
In our humanness there are times when
we hurt each other and the tendency is to pull away and go it alone. We must
resist that tendency.
We were created for community. The
journey of life and faith is often trying, difficult and painful.
Discouragement. Relentless temptation. Debilitating sins. Doubts. Ridicule.
Burdensome weaknesses. Heavy burdens. Unanswered questions. Rejection. Little
wonder God has given us the family of God and the fellowship of believers. It
is an absolutely essential source of strength and guidance.
As a result of our relationship with
Christ, we are reminded in Ephesians 2:19 that …
“… You are no longer foreigners and aliens
(separate from God), but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s
household.”
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