(From our church-wide devotion book at Pinedale Christian Church, "You 2.0”)
God made us to need each other. So if you’re stuck or tempted to live in isolation because it seems easier, think again. You need a community to get there, not more time alone. Like Bob Goff says, “When it comes to community, think bus, not unicycle.”
Unfortunately, there are many people who will never attain maturity and who will always think that they can “go it alone.” It’s been my experience that when you disconnect from the church (the people), you begin to drift spiritually.
In Acts 2, we find an incredible description of fellowship that became a new way to do life. Even better, is anyone could do it, and everyone is invited. Yes, it was costly, but it was compelling. It was outrageously joy-producing, and, oh, by the way, it changed the world.
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day, those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)
To know, be known and built up was a constant exhortation by the writers of the New Testament. In fact, the phrase “one another” is used over 50 times! Why? Because Jesus was creating a family of what might be called one-anotherness. There are all of these statements like,
“Be at peace with one another,” “Honor one another,” “Wash one another’s feet.” Jesus said, “Submit to one another.” They were serious about this in the New Testament. “Admonish one another,” “Speak truth to one another,” and “Be devoted to one another.”
How silly would it have sounded if we replaced the word “another” with “myself”? Speak to myself, Admonish myself, Be devoted to “myself” (Which most of us are) ... It’s always connected to another, it’s relational, we were meant to be connected!
The church is a place where we rejoice in each others’ joys, and we mourn when one of us is going through a dark valley. It’s a place where we pray for others, and we are prayed for; Where we encourage others, and we are encouraged. All this comes together in community. But it will never happen if you just occasionally go to church for an hour on the weekend and never venture any further.
What Paul is exhorting you and me to do is to be unified and stay connectedto Jesus Christ, the head of the church. And Yes, some will say, “I don’t need the church.” But this doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make sense to say, “I accept you, Jesus, but I don’t accept your body.”
The local church is the classroom for learning how to get along in God’s family.
If you look back at the first church in Jerusalem, “God was adding to their number daily” (Acts 2:47), thousands of people meeting together, and yet there was a warm sense of belonging. They had been meeting throughout the week in homes getting to know one another; they had relational depth. So when they came to the large gathering, they knew there was life!
Connecting to the body of Christ is too important to ignore. And honestly, If Jesus finds life and mission are better together, shouldn’t we?
Some realities I’ve experienced regarding connection in my own life:
• People don’t fall into community; they pursue it. Laziness is a problem. It takes time, energy, and effort to walk in deep relationships with other men and women.
• The size of the church becomes insignificant when you get “Connected.”
• Sometimes when we’re looking for an answer, God sends us a friend.
SIMPLE WAYS TO CONNECT
• Attend a Sunday School Class.
• Attend a midweek class or group.
• Go first, invite someone to lunch. Don’t wait to be invited, offer an invitation.
• Be part of a mission trip.• Leave It Better. Jump in and be part of the monthly opportunities to serve alongside others in addition to blessing our community.
• Priority: Maybe it will mean making a decision that when our congregation gathers for worship, I’m going to be here.
• Membership: Maybe it’s becoming a member of our church and going from convenience to commitment.
• Prayer: One of the best ways to deepen your faith is to pray for someone else’s faith. One of the most overused phrases in the Christian community is, “I’ll be praying for you.” But you know what is seldom heard? The follow-upto that request: “How is your job situation? I’ve been praying about it.” Or “I’ve been praying about your daughter moving to college. How is she doing?”
(Con't)