August 31, 2010

Frank at “Reimagining Church” has published a letter from Jon Zens to Jim Belcher, author of Deep Church, in a post called “An Analysis of Jim Belcher’s Deep Church.”

Much of the analysis focuses on the manner that churches meet together. For example, Jon writes:

You assert, “Since the Bible does not give us enough information to construct a worship service, we must fill in the blanks” (p.137).  Why do we feel compelled to find a “worship service”?  There is no evidence that the early church had “worship services,” as we conceive of them.  The largest insight we have about a Christian gathering appears in 1 Cor.14.  We have these glimpses because Paul was correcting a problem.  In this passage we see (1) the whole ekklesia gathered; (2) an open meeting where everyone was potentially involved in prophecy; (3) that what was spoken had to be understood by all; (4) multiple expressions from many, “each of you has…”; (5) no mention of a sermon by one person; (6) no pulpit; (7) no leaders.  You mention “the people up front” (p.139), but in the 1 Cor.14 meeting there is no “front,” as they met in homes with simplicity as a family.  Indeed, while the NT does not give a lot of information about believers’ gatherings, my question is: Why have our traditions essentially jettisoned what light we do have from 1 Cor.14 and other passages?

Later he writes:

Again I must ask, is it hermeneutically responsible to disregard the weight of 1 Cor.11-14 and fill in the blanks with practices that fly in the face of what is revealed?

There is much about meeting together that Scripture does NOT tell us. However, Scripture does tell us some things about how the early churches met together, and how Paul specifically instructed some early churches to meet together. Thus, we have a kind of path to follow.

Why would we want to stray from that path? Why would we want to disregard 1 Corinthians 11-14 and other passages that describe some aspects of church gatherings?

I’ve read many books and articles in which the authors defend modern church practices. But, I’ve never seen this question answered.

August 23, 2010

My friend Danny (from “learning…“) met with us for just over a year. Then, a couple of weeks ago, he moved to Williamsburg, VA. In his post, “A Wonderful Body of Believers,” he talks about the time that he spent with us. I can’t think of a better compliment that what Danny says:

During my time at SEBTS there have been many who have befriended me over the years and blessed me in some way. As an encouragement to you I would like to share about some of them and what they did for me . These people did things that are not in some method book for discipleship, community, fellowship, or teaching. They were just simply being themselves in the Lord and reached out to me for the bottom of their heart through the gifts the Holy Spirit has given them and used the World’s Goods that God gave them. It is this sincere love for God and people that makes the greatest difference. It is when they were like Christ to me that they ministered the most to me.

Here is a picture of many of the people who gather as Messiah Baptist Church. They have reached out to me as a brother and a son, taken me into their homes, fed me, encouraged me, fixed my car, helped me move, talked about (walked with) Jesus and the Bible, talked philosophy, showed me how to love others, even let me use my gifts in the Lord to encourage, teach and comfort them, and much much more. With out neglecting  structure at the proper times all this was mostly spontaneous.

I would like to say more but our (and “Messiah Baptist’s”) real boast is in the Lord, Jesus Christ. It is he that began a good work in us and will complete it. It is he that is working though us to love, to teach, to understand, to spread the good news and build the Kingdom of God: His kingdom.

I pray that we will treat everyone that God brings into our lives that way that Danny felt we treated him… to God’s glory and for the advancement of his Kingdom! I can also tell you that Danny was a huge encouragement to all of us!

By the way, Danny includes a picture of some of the people that we meet with in his blog post.

July 13, 2010

I get alot of emails because of this blog. In the majority of the emails, the authors ask some form of this question: “How do I find community like you describe?”

I often describe the life that we share with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The life that we share today – the community – is different than anything that I’ve ever been part of. And, according to the emails that I get, it’s different from what many people experience as part of churches today.

We’ve been sharing life together with some people for more than five years now… and we’re still learning what it means to be family. We’re still learning what it means to relate to one another as brothers and sisters with God as our father.

But, we had a benefit. We were part of a church that moved from being event-centered and program-centered to being people-centered and relationship-centered. We had the benefit of working through the changes together. It took time and grace and tears and hope and failure and victory… it took big things and small things… and alot of food.

Many of our friends have moved, and when they move, they often struggle with finding community. Even though they have been part of a close relational group (and perhaps partly because they have been part of a close group), they struggle finding believers interested in sharing their lives in a similar way.

So, I’m asking you for help. What would you say to someone who is moving to a new location (or perhaps is in a location with few – or no – close friends)? What encouragement would you give them for building close relationships with other believers? How would you help them find community?

June 12, 2010

Tomorrow, we’re taking part in our latest church tradition: going to the beach together. We’ve been to the beach together four or five times (I think). We go to Wrightsville Beach, NC and hang out under one of the piers.

Since Margaret is still recovering from her surgery, she won’t be going to the beach. I’m fighting a head cold, but hopefully I’ll be able to take Jeremy and Miranda.

If you’re in the area, or just want to take a trip to the beach, join us for sun and surf, volleyball, food, and alot of good conversation. We may even take a trip to my favorite restaurant, Sticky Fingers, on the way home.

May 25, 2010

In a few days, two of my friends will be graduation from Southeastern, one from the college and one from the seminary.

One of the graduates plans to move (with his wife) to Switzerland to learn French, then to Africa. Once they reach Africa, they will work with an organization to help translate Scriptures into local languages and dialects.

The other graduate (with his wife) plans to move to Florida and look for a job teaching history in a local public high school.

So, which graduate is the minister? Which graduate is the missionary?

Answer: Both graduates (and their wives) are ministers, and both graduates (and their wives) are missionaries.

May 19, 2010

Last weekend, we camped with the church. We’ve done this several times before, and we’ve always had a great time with our friends… and usually met new friends as well.

This time, camping was an adventure.

We only camped Saturday night. We usually camp Friday and Saturday nights. But, the camp was full for Friday night. It actually worked out very well, so that wasn’t the adventure.

Also, more people than normal camped. Generally, a few families pitch their tents, and others join us during the day. This time, many more families than normal camped… and it was great! So, that wasn’t the adventure either.

It was hot. HOT! The temperature reached above 90 degrees Saturday afternoon. It was almost too hot for a camp fire Saturday night. But, we did have a camp fire… and s’mores… so that was not the adventure either.

It rained. It started raining just before 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning. But, it had rained on us before while camping, so that was not the adventure either.

Then…. around 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning… a thunderstorm passed over our campsite. Thunder… lightning… buckets and buckets of water… and we found out that our tent leaked. Well, leak is a nice way of saying that within a few minutes there was a river of water running beside me inside the tent.

Unfortunately, because of the water in our tent, we had to leave the campsite around 2:00 (along with the five kids we were responsible for). But, we returned the next morning. And we continued having a great time with our friends… and with Art from “Church Task Force” who joined us Sunday morning.

It turned out that some people stayed dry, and some people got wet. Several small children (two under one year old) camped overnight, and I think they did the best of all of us.

So… camping was an adventure… but I’m looking forward to the next adventure… perhaps sometime this fall.

May 12, 2010

God has placed me among some awesome people – brothers and sisters in Christ. For example, whenever someone is hurting or in need or had a baby or had been in the hospital or had been sick, someone begins to organize meals. The elders don’t tell them to do it. There is no benevolence committee or ministry director to control it. Instead, whenever someone is in need, someone else sends out an email and begins organizing meals.

Tonight, Margaret (my wife) had volunteered to prepare a meal for some friends of ours who recently had a baby. The husband and wife are both vegetarians, so she made a vegetarian pizza, something she normally doesn’t do. I got home just in time to help put the finishing touches on the pizza and salad. Then we delivered the meal to our friends.

Others have taken meals to our friends, and still others will take meals later. Why? Because we love them, and we want to help them while they adjusting to have a new baby. I can’t think of a better way to serve (worship) on a Wednesday evening!

March 27, 2010

I haven’t seen T. in several weeks. T. lives in “The Neighborhood.” We met here a couple of years ago when we started spending time there.

She’s been having problems with her teeth for a long time. Although she’s been to the dentist over and over again, they keep putting off doing anything about it. For instance, once she called the dentist, and he told her that everything was ready. When she got there, everything wasn’t ready. And, she’s still waiting.

Recently, things have gotten worse. And, she’s very self-conscious about it. She’s asked me not to come by to visit her until she gets some of her teeth fixed. So, we just talk on the phone.

Today, when I was taking her neighbor’s garbage out, I noticed that T.’s door was open. On the way back, I knocked on her door. When I heard her coming, I told her it was me, but that I wasn’t going to stay.

I said, “We don’t have to talk. I just wanted to say hello.”

By that time, she had opened the door, and I hugged her. I simply said, “I love you and miss you, and I just wanted to let you know.”

As I turned to leave, she said thank you and that she missed me, too.

Sometimes, when you can’t really be there, a hug says alot.

March 3, 2010

I haven’t written about our friends in “the Neighborhood” lately. We met Mrs. W  in the neighborhood almost two years ago. At first, we had a hard time talking to her. It wasn’t that she was mean or anything, but she just wasn’t very talkative. Eventually, though, after visiting with her week after week for over a year, she started talking to us. She tells us about her life growing up around Wake Forest and about her family.

But, in all the times that we’ve visited her, she would never let us do anything for her. Even when we raked leaves for other neighbors, she said that she wanted to rake her own leaves. And, that was cool, because she likes to be outdoors and that’s about the only exercise she gets.

Just before Christmas, she mentioned that she was having a hard time cleaning her apartment. Her family had been helping her, but they didn’t clean like she wanted. She never asked us to clean her apartment, but one afternoon Margaret (my wife), Miranda (my daughter), and another lady cleaned her apartment. (see my post “Wednesday Afternoon Worship Service“)

Last Saturday, when we were talking to Mrs. W, Margaret didn’t even ask if she wanted her apartment cleaned again. She simply told Mrs. W that she wanted to clean her apartment again. The next day, Margaret asked if anyone would like to help her clean Mrs. W’s apartment.

So, this morning, Margaret, Miranda, three other ladies, and one of their daughters cleaned Mrs. W’s apartment again.

I appreciate their example of working together to serve others!

February 4, 2010

If we read the narrative of Scripture as a whole (Old Testament and New Testament), we’ll see examples of God’s people gathering together and examples of God’s people going out.

I’ve been wondering lately, where should our focus be? Obviously, both gathering and going are important to the individual follower Jesus Christ and to the church. I agree with the Anabaptists that every disciple is both an ordained missionary and an ordained minister (servant).

But, should one (gathering or going) have a higher priority in our lives? Should this focus be different individually than corporately (as a group)? How would we (individually and corporately) demonstrate this priority?