Community II

As I am away from the people that make up my community in Raleigh, I am able to reflect on that fellowship of believers.  Also, I've begun reading Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which is absolutely fantastic (thanks Rob).  Both have allowed me to dwell on the concept of fellowship and to appreciate the community that God has given me.  As most of us head into the new semester, it seems that we should take time to praise God for the community he has given us.  In Raleigh, our community group is a fellowship of believers that is pursuing Christ. Though we may all be at different stages, or going through various trials, I have seen that the hearts in that group desire to pursue Christ.  This should overwhelm each of us.  In fact, I'm getting pretty emotional right now thinking about everyone (Although, the fact that I'm listening to hymns, Joshua Radin, and Iron & Wine might also have something to do with it).  Bonhoeffer said in his book, “So between the death of Christ and the Last Day it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things that Christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship with other Christians.”  Paul writes of  living together in peace through the Spirit in Ephesians 4.  At the time, he was in prison, so he absolutely knew that community was a blessing to praise God for.  We should praise God every time we come together simply because he allows us to know each other.

This is not a naive or overly idealistic notion.  Our community is pursuing Christ, and many others are as well.  The idealism comes in when we think that our group should look/behave in a certain way, even if that way is based in good intentions, for, "By sheer grace, God will not permit us to live even for a brief period in a dream world… Only that fellowship which faces disillusionment, with all its unhappy and ugly aspects, begins to be what it should be in God’s sight, begins to grasp in faith the promise that is given to it" (Bonhoeffer).   Our community is constantly in flux.  Some are going through trials, or wandering through the desert, while others are able to swim in the word and his goodness continually and passionately.  Praise God that this should happen!  Not just because eventually our stages will change and others will need our support, but because it illuminates that Christ alone is all that can support fellowship. "If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ" (Bonhoeffer).  I am certainly guilty of this.  Looking for the "right" amount of Bible study or fellowship during our time together.  Invariably, this drives my heart away from God's will and towards my own.  Christ is all that allows a community to grow, or even exist.  As Ephesians 2: 20-22 communicates, we are being "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.  In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." To quote Bonhoeffer again, “Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.” 

So as we all look to this next semester, it may be our inclination (it's certainly mine) to achieve Christ-centered community.  By the grace of God, that will not happen.  Since the group's inception, and since I've been attending, God has used the people in our community group to glorify his name above all else.  There has absolutely been trials and frustration, and I'm fairly confident we have all been hurt in some way.  This will continue to happen.  God is leading this group; not that we would know comfort, but that we would know his glory and absolutely depend on him.  

Hypocrisy

When I've heard those who don't follow Jesus explain why they choose not to, many times it's because of the hypocrisy they see that is in the church.  My first inclination is not to disagree with them, but to figure out what can be done to fix this.  I don't think it's fair to say that a church as a whole is hypocritical, but it is easy to say that some sort of hypocrisy is present in most, if not all, churches.  Obviously this is frustrating because I desperately want the world to see the church as a place that pursues Christ, and a place that will offer respite to those who suffer.

I recently listened to a sermon from the Village Church on Ultimate Authority: Guiding & Confronting the Mess.  It talked about where the hypocrisy can come from.  First, there are wolves in sheep's clothing, as 2 Peter 2:2 says, "And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed." Also, Jesus told the Pharisees, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves" (Matthew 23:15).  Secondly, there are varying levels of spiritual maturity within the church.  Paul writes about this in Romans 14.  The last reason that those outside the church see hypocrisy is because there is always a possibility of theological/missiological drift.  A good example of the last issue is the church of Ephesus, which was called out in Revelation 2 for losing its first love.  The Ephesians were still doing good things, but they had lost their focus on Christ.

After seeing all of these it seems clear that hypocrisy is a heart issue, and instead of asking what the church should do, it is imperative that I look at my own hypocrisy.  Those who don't believe, as said by Charles Spurgeon in a sermon on Ezekiel 16:54, could easily say, "You say you are crucified to the world, and the world to you: it is a very merry sort of crucifixion.  You say that you mortify your members and deny yourselves: your mortification must be suffered in secret, for it is but very little that we can see of it!"  My hypocrisy comes from being content in my pride and seeking my own selfish desires.  Even though I say that I serve others, my heart is too often turned inward.  Not only that, but I am okay with being comfortable.  This hypocrisy cripples my relationship with Christ, but also shows others a twisted view of following him. 

I pray that I would only seek Christ, for as he said, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I have not come to bring peace, but a sword... And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:34, 38-39).  If the church is focused on Christ, then we will absolutely be ridiculed, but not for hypocrisy.  Again, as Jesus said, "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant to be like his master.  If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household" (Matthew 10:24-25)

Prayer

Today I was able to meet with a fellow brother in Christ as we take part in a Bible study, and something struck me.  I was asking him how I could pray for him, and he did the same, but for some reason, this time it seemed different.  I know he's asked me before, and others have in the past as well, but this time it just hit me that I REALLY need prayer.  As I become a member of Vintage 21 church, and as I seek to be a Christ-like example in all my relationships, I desperately need prayer.  I am certainly plagued with a fair amount of self-doubt and trepidation as I look to the future, and I'm not sure where the line between healthy vulnerability and humble leadership is.  So, for whatever reason (probably divine), I found today that I am in need of prayer and support from those in my community of faith. 

Prayer to be open and honest with the people in my life.  Not in a complaining way, but in a way that would show Christ through my brokenness.  As Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15-16, "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.  But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life."

Along with this, I am only beginning to understand what it means to be a man of God.  To stop living in laziness and lead in humility.  As Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:11-12, "But as for you, O man of God, flee these things.  Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith.  Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." Also, in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

Throughout the rest of my life, but especially in the coming months, I beg for prayer, and may I never forget how much I need the support of the community God has given me.

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." -(1 Corinthians 15:58)