Tag: church

Growing Pains, Pt. 1 | “Fellowship”

What is Fellowship?

Fellowship is more than just being in the same room as someone else or even saying “hello” to those that are around us. Fellowship is found not in the halls that we meet nor in the restaurants that have great atmosphere. Fellowship is the sharing of lives. It is coming to a place where those that at one time were strangers to us have now become family. When those people that before we would have seen only once in a while, now for some reason we find yourself thinking about and wanting to be around them more and more. Fellowship is the process where two or more people’s lives becomes a part of our own life.

I do not mean that another person is being nosy or trying to run or ruin our life. But, when another person becomes a loved one, so that you hurt because they hurt, that is fellowship. It is not an easy road to travel, the one called fellowship. It is a slow and sometimes hurtful journey to bring people in that close. It is not easy, but there is something about being able to share with someone, about having that outside influence and strength. Will we be able to have fellowship with everyone in the church? The truth is no, that is not possible, but what are we doing to reach out and invite in those that we can?

Why Is Fellowship Important?

Growth only happens in an environment where trust exists. If we do not trust those that are around us will we be able to grow and feel safe? One of the most difficult things about growing in faith is being able to share our genuine concerns and know that they will not become the talk of the town, or worse the church. We cannot worship in an environment where we feel that we are being singled out. Trust is built by being trustworthy. Love is known by being loving. Fellowship comes when we are neighbors to strangers and family to friends. This may seem like a difficult way of doing it but that is what Jesus did for us. The apostle Paul writes it this way, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8; NKJV).

A large part of what makes fellowship what it ought to be comes from the way that we react to the people and circumstances that are around us. Do we want fellowship to exist? Then let us be the first to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. These are the tools that we are to use to create an environment that will produce fellowship. To answer the question a little more direct, “Why is fellowship important?” we need to understand that it is in the context of fellowship that we love one another and that people will know that we are Christ’s disciples (John 13:35; NKJV).

How Do We Sustain Fellowship?

Here is where the rubber meets the road so to speak. How do we go about sustaining fellowship within a body? The word that comes to mind is sincerity. If true and lasting fellowship is going to exist there has to be sincerity among those that are acting and doing within the body. If what you do is half-hearted or selfish, fellowship will not grow and it will die quickly if these things come into the body of Christ.

Fellowship will happen when we decide that we are really going to care about those that come to our church, whether visitor or member, and we will love them with the love of God.

Growing Pains | Introduction

Growing pains are not meant to be fun, but they are necessary. They are a sign that you are alive and that you are not perfect. Both of these are good things.

We All Have Growing Pains

I remember waking up in the middle of the night with a pain shooting up both of my shins. I thought someone had come into my room and had hit me as hard as they could. It was as if a vice had been place across my shins and where being tightened and then loosened over and over again. I had never felt pain like that in my life. Now, I was about twelve, so I did not have a lot of other moments to compare it too. The next morning, I told my mom what happened and she told me that it was a normal part of getting bigger. They were just “growing pains.”

Well, it has been a long time since I had physical growing pains, but the experience has not changed as I have gotten older. The growing pains that I go through now, however, are spiritual, personal and emotional rather than physical. I am constantly learning new things about myself and others. Some of them are better than others. Some of them, I wish I never had to go through, but I would not change it even when it was my fault.

Growing pains are not meant to be fun, but they are necessary. They are a sign that you are alive and that you are not perfect. Both of these are good things. The challenge is to be an active participant in the process. We have to accept the pains as a reality we have to learn to deal with because there will never be just one. And because of that we may lean in the direction of quitting or giving up rather than fighting through.

Growing Edges

My pastor told me as I sat across from him in his office during my annual staff review, “We all have growing edges.” A growing edge is that place where you have to improve, get better. We all have them. We do not always see them. That is why we need someone to remind us of where we need to grow. The same is true in the church. As a whole we all have to grow together, together. This is what makes a church’s growing pains difficult. They are difficult because they involve more than one person. And all of these people may not always be on the same page.

Over the next several weeks we will look at seven growing pains. Each of these areas are important because they are the visible realities of our faith expression. At any given time any person that is not a Christian, not a part of the body of Christ will come in contact with a believer who may be (should be?) engaging in one of these activities. It is at these times that we discover where we are and whether or not we are moving towards where we need to be.

My mom’s explanation helped be to understand what I was going through. My hope is that over the next few weeks we will see the purpose of these pains and find a way to endure and grow to see the benefits of what is happening even when we don’t always enjoy it.

Leading vs. Being in Front

I was driving home from work about a week ago and a thought came to my mind.

“What is the difference between leading and being in front of a group of people?”

I know that there are probably many different ways of answering that question. And I am not about to pretend that I have the final answer on this question. To be honest I am not even sure why I had this thought come to mind other than to say that God put it in there. So, taking that for what it is, this is what I believe God’s answer to me was. The difference is purposefulness.

This is more specific than purpose because you can be out front choosing the direction, but that may not mean that there is an end in mind. We can become so used to the idea of enjoying the journey, that we fail to recognize that the journey does have an end. All of this will come to an end. There will be a moment in time when we will no longer be about “smelling roses” but will finally get to “pushing up daisies.”

Over the last several years I have tried to become more intentional about what I am doing in and for the kingdom of God. I am not here to just share some platitudes or make people more comfortable where they are. This does not mean that I am trying to be difficult. I want to be challenged to do more, to go further, than I have ever gone before. I want to see and be a part of great things. Not for my own sake, but for the sake of God and his glory.

By the grace of God he called me to be a pastor. I have not always appreciated what this meant. I have struggled to do it my way. I have made a mess of things because of this attitude, and I still do (I just hope lest frequently). In spite of my shortcomings, I have seen God do some amazing things. I have witnessed transformation and renewal.

As of late, however, I have realized that many of us in professional ministry have not taken ownership of what God is calling us to do. It is not enough to be out front. It is not enough to have the title without also taking hold of the responsibility. Another way of talking about this would be to ask a simple question:

What is the vision that God is asking you to fulfill?

What is it that God has put inside of you, that you need to see through to the end? I have been grappling this with this question. While it is possible that the ultimate vision is the same, the way that we accomplish it will be as varied and as unique as the ridges on our finger tips. God made us unique, and that uniqueness cannot be stripped from us as we go into the world.

I want to be a leader worth following. My heart yearns for the ability to help others find their way to Jesus. But, in order to do that I have to accept that fact that what God has put inside of me must find its way out of me. Leading is dangerous because there will be those that do not agree with what you are doing, how you are doing it, or why you are doing it. There are many who would not even venture into some of the places God has placed on your heart, but that should not matter. We go were the spirit leads. We go because that is where are hearts are being pulled.

Being a leader is not about popularity. Leaders go where no one else has gone. Leaders are usually alone because the risk can be too much for others. The risks of leadership are not careless or impulsive. Leaders should give careful thought to what they are doing. To chose a path is to own the effects and result, whether good or bad.

Which are you? Are you leading, cutting a new path? Or are you just in front glad to have a better view.

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“Faith is…” Series, Pt. 12 | Faith is… Caring for the People of God

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10, ESV, emphasis added)

For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (1 John 3:11, ESV)

Faith is not just what we have inside of us. Faith must find its way out of us into the world in which we live. One of the areas where we must not forget to extend the grace that we have received is to those who are a part of our community of faith. Paul plainly tells us that we should love one another and that we must not miss the opportunities to do good to those of the “household of faith.” It would seem that Paul believed that it was easy to miss. As in most cases, the most familiar things are most often taken for granted.

If we cannot help one another, whom we know and see on a regular basis, how are we ever going to convince anybody else that we care for them? What we will create is a consumption-based relationship. People will come and receive from us because we are willing to give, but true and deep relationship will not be a part of our time together. The heart of the church is the joining of the hearts of its members.

This truth of our faith is an outgrowth of what Jesus taught the disciples. Without a caring church there will be no power in the testimony of the church in and to the world. Jesus’ clearest example shows that if we are not growing and participating in loving actions toward one another, our witness will amount to nothing.

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. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35, ESV)

Paul also joins in and expands on this point and lets us know that it is possible to fulfill God’s law when we love one another as Christ loves us. The idea here is not that we can do now what we could not do before without Jesus. What this next statement points to is that the purpose of the law was to help us love one another. Unfortunately, the law had the opposite effect on us.

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8, ESV)

And again Paul says,

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10, ESV)

John goes so far as to say that our love for one another is evidence of the very existance of God when he says,

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. (1 John 4:12, NLT)

God has chosen to use the bonds of love between members of the body of Christ as evidence of the Gospel, his existence and his ability to change the human heart. Too often we stop short of saying this. If we accepted this as a part of our faith and calling much of the bickering that we see in our churches would have to stop. But, this would mean that we had to live out the love that Jesus demonstrated toward us. We cannot fake this kind of love. We cannot behave our way into loving people like Christ loved the church. That is impossible.

Genuine love can only come by a radically changed heart. Only when we are willing to surrender our own desires to do what we want and to choose whom we will love can we begin to love biblically. An this may be where many of us falter. We want to be able to choose whom we love. But, Jesus had something to say about that (Matthew 5:43-48).

There is a question that I now find myself asking regularly. It is based on a Paul’s declaration in Galatians 2:20. This is the question:

Whose life am I living?

If I cannot answer this question I will not be able to move forward into what God desires for me in my life. What is worse is that if I cannot answer this question I have to ask some other questions about the “change” that was borne as a result of my profession of faith. There is a struggle to live a life of faith. This is natural, but which side appears to have the upper hand? Who keeps winning?

The second verse that started our discussion makes a subtle claim that I do not want us to overlook. John is declaring that the message that he and the other disciples took to the world and the nations was and is the same message that was delivered “from the beginning.” It would be somewhat naive to believe that John was thinking only of Jesus’ ministry. John, in his Gospel and in the letters, tends toward an eternal perspective. John, I believe, is pointing us toward the fact that God has always desired to express his love toward his creation. But, that is not enough. An important component of God’s plan was also to have love be the defining reality of all relationships.

The way that the Bible seems to describe the connection between our faith in Christ and our love for one another, there does not appear to be a way to separate the two. If we claim to have faith in God and there is little-to-no evidence of love for those that are also God’s children, then we are walking on dangerous ground. John said in his first letter that this is, in essence, an impossibility. If we love God then we must love one another.

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20, ESV)

Read that verse again. John calls us liars for saying that we love God and then fail to show love toward our brothers!

Based on this verse, how are you doing? You cannot at the same time love God and hate your brothers in the faith. Love is a positive, intentional action toward those you see. There is no such thing as “passive” love. Love is action. Love is movement. Love is alive. Anything less than this betrays the condition of our own hearts.

In closing, I want to offer this prayer for you to consider and pray for yourself. Let it be a guide.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Your love for me is perfect. You demonstrated your love by sending Jesus to live, die, be buried and to rise again on the third day. Help me to feel deep within my heart the weight and power and breadth of your love in Jesus. Help me to take what you have put within me by the power of the Holy Spirit and share it with those who are a part of my family of faith. I know that I may not always like or approve of what they do, but that does not change that I should love them as Christ loved the church.

Father, help me to prove your love for me by loving others. I no longer want to be a liar. I desire for my life and testimony to agree. The only way that this will happen is by trusting in you to transform my heart. I recognize now that this is a daily act and a life-long process. Give me the strength and courage to surrender to your will, your plan and your purposes for my life.

In the name of Jesus the Savior I pray, Amen!

Christian: What is that anyway?

What I have found out is that the world “out there” is very much a part of the lives of the people who make up the church “in here.”

Us vs. Them

As a preacher’s kid, I have spent my whole life as an insider looking out. I have, for many years, taken for granted the vocabulary and assumptions of the church about the world “out there.” What I have found out is that the world “out there” is very much a part of the lives of the people who make up the church “in here.” The adversarial nature of the church, the “us” versus “them” mentality that seems to find its way into (the minds of church people) and out of the church (through its methods and approaches) has done a lot to harm the ultimate mission and purpose of the church.

Hello Christians

It is interesting that the word CHRISTian was not even coined by followers of JESUS. It was first used to deride and make fun of disciples. The believers in Antioch, however, felt that the word CHRISTian captured what they were trying to be and embraced it; and so has every believer since.

Ancient Antioch was famous for its humor, especially the coining of jesting Nicknames. When an organized brigade of chanting devotees of Nero led crowds in adulation, this band of imperial cheerleaders with their ludicrous homage was quickly dubbed Augustiani. And earlier, when the devotees of the one called Christ came to public attention, they were named Christianoi, partisans of Christ (11:26). What may have been first coined by outsiders as a term of derision (see Acts 26:28 and 1 Pet 4:16, the only two other New Testament occurrences of the term–both on the lips of hostile unbelievers), the followers of the Way embraced it as a fitting label. [Source]

At The Core

In martial arts, the reason that you should train is to see what you are made of so that if there is anything that needs to be purged it will be through the process. The purpose of training is never to become a better fighter or learn how to hurt others, even though that will happen. We are taught to train to learn how to control our emotions, to redirect our energies into more productive and appropriate responses to the events around us.

I remember reading that those with no martial training do not have many options, if any at all, in a confrontation or fight. I wondered why. There are few or no options because you will react in whatever way “feels right.” The problem with this may lead to an overreaction, under-reaction, or no reaction at all. These are not really options because you do not control them. They are just reactions. A response is something you choose. Training, increasing our understanding of discipline helps us to better respond to circumstances and situations.

CHRISTianity, when seen from the point of view of GOD, it is a response to the problem of sin in the world and in each person. When seen from the point of view of man, CHRISTianity is a response to the problem of sin and the broken relationships that we have with GOD and one another. The word CHRISTian is more than a label, title, or description. This word is the remedy to the brokenness that exists in each of us. And it is also the path that we must travel if we are to honor CHRIST and glorify GOD with our lives.

What is CHRISTianity? It may not be what you think… IT’S ACTUALLY MORE!

Last Updated on February 9, 2023.
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