The second of our Core Values at Campus Church is COMMUNITY.
THE STORY: Let’s go back…way back. It’s Friday night and there’s a message on my answering machine when I get home from work. I expected there to be one. It’s Ashaun letting me know that we were going to hook up at “The Guy’s” house to worship and pray before we went out that night. I pick up a few of the guys and we head over to the guy’s apartment and look at 12-15 smiling faces, hugs, and blessings moving about the room like a cloud. Ashaun grabs a guitar and prayer commences before he strikes the first chord. The most amazing time of worship and prayer follows.
After an hour or so we stop and try to decide where we are going. As we are talking one of the guys mentions how God miraculously caused his empty tank of gas to get him through the week and one of the other guys mentions that they are still short on the electric bill. Everyone in the room jumps at the opportunity. Wendy and Jackie are fast on the draw of their Senior in high school allowance money, Kenny whips out a 10 spot, and before 2 minutes pass us by, the guy’s needs are taken care of- followed by a swift rebuke to get a steady job and we continue to discuss where we are going that night. We decide on The Dreaded Bulldog…a new coffee shop on May & Britton(or something like that).
We are all excited about what could happen…after all, 12-15 Christians supercharged by the Holy Spirit are about to go out and brag on Jesus as we are loving on people. We show up and have no need to try to draw attention to ourselves…remember there are 12-15 of us and we are all grins and blessings. We sit down and soon a conversation with a group of drunk high schoolers embarks. Everyone is sharing their testimony of how it came to be that they fell in love with Jesus. Before long it turns into an event that engages the entire coffee shop and conviction begins to appear on the faces of the drunk high school students.
The following day a few of those kids walk the aisle of their local church and get saved. I know what had happened the following morning because one of those high school kids recognized me on OU’s campus about 5 years after the fact. My wife Jamie and I were on the campus, again talking to folks about our love for Jesus and a seaming stranger asked me if I remembered him from 5 years before at the Dreaded Bulldog. He told Jamie and I about the decision that he and his friend had made that following morning in the church that their family had been involved in.
THE EXAMPLE: The event described above is in no way being offered as having equal standing with the incredible since of community enjoyed by the primitive Church in the book of Acts. This event is being describe because we believed that the since of community enjoyed by the primitive Church was just as rightfully ours at this time as it was theirs in their time. We as a community of believers made a priority of embracing the teachings and example of Jesus which enabled the primitive gathering of followers to not only imagine but enjoy an incredible and miraculous exhibition of Christian Community. Let’s go back…way back via Acts 2:42-47…
THE NOT SO HIDDEN TRUTH: So let’s look at these verses as students instead of as professors and see what we can learn.
1) v. 42 And THEY devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
2) v. 44 And all who believed were TOGETHER and had all things in common.
3) v. 45 And THEY were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need.
4) v. 46 And day by day attending the temple TOGETHER and breaking bread in their homes they received their food with glad and generous hearts.
Notice the plurality and totality of the events that they shared and experienced TOGETHER. Learning, communion, prayer, distribution of resources to those who were in need, worship…on and on. They shared life TOGETHER and did it “day by day” or in other words they did in constantly. These events that they chose to share and experience together were not mere introspective indulgences. These events brought more and more, thousands of more and more into the kingdom.
5) v. 47 and the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
LIGHT THE FIRE!: This substance of community that I am talking about is the substance that builds “a city on a hill that cannot be hidden” This is the substance of “a lamp on a stand that gives light to all in the house.” This is the substance that “so shines before others that when they see it, they glorify God.”
WE THE PEOPLE: Recently I heard a friend of mine was explaining to a group of international students here in the US that we as Americans do not value community in our culture in the same way that they might have enjoyed it in their own countries where they came from. Many of these students came from cultures where it was not necessary to call before they show up at a neighbors house. In other cultures it is also expected that meals would be shared with others and not alone or with immediate family only. In fact in certain areas of India the evening meal is what occupies the duration of time until night and you can expect people to come and go from your house during this meal as you yourself might go into other houses during this time. Daryl (my friend) apologized to the students the we as Americans value our privacy and that they should not expect such notions of hospitality here as they did in their own countries. He explained that it is very important that you call and make appointments instead of expecting to spend time with others. We are very task driven and not relationally driven as a culture.
THE CHALLENGE: My challenge here is this…look intently into the message of the Kingdom and be resolved to model your expectations and actions upon the orders and models provided to us through the Lord’s teachings and the example given to us by the churches that followed. You will be cheating if you are looking at the model provided for you by the church down the street…I mean Biblical models (no offense Mister Church Down the Street, I’m not doing so good myself in this area). So let’s go start some fires on hilltops and bring some glory to Jesus through some visible Jesus lovin’ people servin’ community.
We value a faith that is shared and experienced through tight bonds of friendship and giving.Bear with me as I charter the waters of Christian Community. Well, I hope you can do a better job than just “bearing with me”. I hope you catch a fever for experiencing it!
THE STORY: Let’s go back…way back. It’s Friday night and there’s a message on my answering machine when I get home from work. I expected there to be one. It’s Ashaun letting me know that we were going to hook up at “The Guy’s” house to worship and pray before we went out that night. I pick up a few of the guys and we head over to the guy’s apartment and look at 12-15 smiling faces, hugs, and blessings moving about the room like a cloud. Ashaun grabs a guitar and prayer commences before he strikes the first chord. The most amazing time of worship and prayer follows.
After an hour or so we stop and try to decide where we are going. As we are talking one of the guys mentions how God miraculously caused his empty tank of gas to get him through the week and one of the other guys mentions that they are still short on the electric bill. Everyone in the room jumps at the opportunity. Wendy and Jackie are fast on the draw of their Senior in high school allowance money, Kenny whips out a 10 spot, and before 2 minutes pass us by, the guy’s needs are taken care of- followed by a swift rebuke to get a steady job and we continue to discuss where we are going that night. We decide on The Dreaded Bulldog…a new coffee shop on May & Britton(or something like that).
We are all excited about what could happen…after all, 12-15 Christians supercharged by the Holy Spirit are about to go out and brag on Jesus as we are loving on people. We show up and have no need to try to draw attention to ourselves…remember there are 12-15 of us and we are all grins and blessings. We sit down and soon a conversation with a group of drunk high schoolers embarks. Everyone is sharing their testimony of how it came to be that they fell in love with Jesus. Before long it turns into an event that engages the entire coffee shop and conviction begins to appear on the faces of the drunk high school students.
The following day a few of those kids walk the aisle of their local church and get saved. I know what had happened the following morning because one of those high school kids recognized me on OU’s campus about 5 years after the fact. My wife Jamie and I were on the campus, again talking to folks about our love for Jesus and a seaming stranger asked me if I remembered him from 5 years before at the Dreaded Bulldog. He told Jamie and I about the decision that he and his friend had made that following morning in the church that their family had been involved in.
THE EXAMPLE: The event described above is in no way being offered as having equal standing with the incredible since of community enjoyed by the primitive Church in the book of Acts. This event is being describe because we believed that the since of community enjoyed by the primitive Church was just as rightfully ours at this time as it was theirs in their time. We as a community of believers made a priority of embracing the teachings and example of Jesus which enabled the primitive gathering of followers to not only imagine but enjoy an incredible and miraculous exhibition of Christian Community. Let’s go back…way back via Acts 2:42-47…
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the 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 generous 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.THE DOUBTERS: The subject at hand is community, and the importance of the church doing community well. I have heard messages and discussions about the visible community demonstrated in Acts 2.42-47 that were not favorable toward this first ingathering of saints, but believed that these guys were really missing the mark. Some say that the church was suffering from a Pinko Communist agenda that led God to punishing the church by means of persecution. Others have said that the church fell victim to a introspective indulgence of mere inward concern. Now these are both wild extremes but the truth is this...we can be unnecessarily intimidated by passages like this. At this time if you would, just sign over your mortgage to me, along with the title of your car...I'M JUST KIDDING! JUST KIDDING. The life of faith that the disciples had come to know was a life that was shared and experienced with Jesus. They traveled together, they ate together, they did ministry together, and they suffered together. Jesus taught them to share their lives and resources with people who had need. Jesus promised them that through this love, the world would know that He lives among them.
(Acts 2:42-47)
THE NOT SO HIDDEN TRUTH: So let’s look at these verses as students instead of as professors and see what we can learn.
1) v. 42 And THEY devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
2) v. 44 And all who believed were TOGETHER and had all things in common.
3) v. 45 And THEY were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need.
4) v. 46 And day by day attending the temple TOGETHER and breaking bread in their homes they received their food with glad and generous hearts.
Notice the plurality and totality of the events that they shared and experienced TOGETHER. Learning, communion, prayer, distribution of resources to those who were in need, worship…on and on. They shared life TOGETHER and did it “day by day” or in other words they did in constantly. These events that they chose to share and experience together were not mere introspective indulgences. These events brought more and more, thousands of more and more into the kingdom.
5) v. 47 and the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
LIGHT THE FIRE!: This substance of community that I am talking about is the substance that builds “a city on a hill that cannot be hidden” This is the substance of “a lamp on a stand that gives light to all in the house.” This is the substance that “so shines before others that when they see it, they glorify God.”
WE THE PEOPLE: Recently I heard a friend of mine was explaining to a group of international students here in the US that we as Americans do not value community in our culture in the same way that they might have enjoyed it in their own countries where they came from. Many of these students came from cultures where it was not necessary to call before they show up at a neighbors house. In other cultures it is also expected that meals would be shared with others and not alone or with immediate family only. In fact in certain areas of India the evening meal is what occupies the duration of time until night and you can expect people to come and go from your house during this meal as you yourself might go into other houses during this time. Daryl (my friend) apologized to the students the we as Americans value our privacy and that they should not expect such notions of hospitality here as they did in their own countries. He explained that it is very important that you call and make appointments instead of expecting to spend time with others. We are very task driven and not relationally driven as a culture.
THE CHALLENGE: My challenge here is this…look intently into the message of the Kingdom and be resolved to model your expectations and actions upon the orders and models provided to us through the Lord’s teachings and the example given to us by the churches that followed. You will be cheating if you are looking at the model provided for you by the church down the street…I mean Biblical models (no offense Mister Church Down the Street, I’m not doing so good myself in this area). So let’s go start some fires on hilltops and bring some glory to Jesus through some visible Jesus lovin’ people servin’ community.
1 comments:
The times when I have experienced community in some of the ways described here, it has been some of the funnest times of my life. It has also been very challenging, as sharing life with other people requires being more open about who you are and makes it more difficult to hide the things that we would rather others not know about us. But, ultimately, sharing in community is rewarding, both for the great stories that you have to share as well as for the refining that it brings.
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