Is Church as we know it CHURCH as God wants it?

This image reminds me of the little white church building where my family worshipped.  I grew up in a time when most of the people I knew went to church and church activities didn't have to compete with hobbies, sports and school activities.  In my family, singing in the church choir had a higher value than being in the school play. And little league baseball took a backseat to Vacation Bible School. And since grocery stores were closed on Sunday, grocery shopping had to happen on another day of the week. 

Life in the 50's in my little community was pretty uncomplicated. Neighbors looked out for each other, partisan politics didn't paralyze Washington, and drug addiction wasn't a national epidemic. It was a pretty good time to grow up, particularly if you were a middle-class white kid living in middle America.

On the other hand, if you were poor or black or Hispanic or Native American or blind or disabled or mentally challenged, the 50's weren't as kind and gentle.  Even with the help of "Blue Laws" and other social conventions friendly to the religious community, the Church did little to confront prejudice, poverty, the problems of the underprivileged, and other social ills.  Clearly, Church as we knew it in the 50's was not CHURCH as God wanted it.  

When our religion is shaped by our culture, devotion to that religion can be measured by cultural values. However, our devotion to Jesus, can never be measured by the values of our cultural.  Jesus calls us to transform the values of our culture by practicing the law of love:  

• "You shall love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5).
• "For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Galatians 5:14).
• "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35).

When Church as we know it is shaped by the law of love, it will become CHURCH as God wants it. 

One Anothering

Geese can teach us a lot about how to take care of one another. Here are five things we can learn from them:

1. When geese fly together, each goose provides additional air lift and reduces air resistance for the goose flying behind it.
2. When a goose drops out of the v-formation it quickly discovers that it requires a lot more energy and effort to fly.
3. Geese rotate leadership.
4. Geese honk at one another as a way of encouraging each other.
5. Geese support one another in times of trouble.  If one goose becomes injured and falls out of the formation, two others will drop out of the formation and stay with the injured goose until it either dies or is able to fly again.

God has created us to love, support and care for one another in a similar way.  It is a matter of instinct for geese and a matter of choice for us.  When we choose to follow Jesus, it is a choice to love, support and care for others as well.  

Jesus had a lot to say about taking care of each other. The list of "One Anothers" in the New Testament is pretty long, too long for this brief blog, so here are a few one-anothers to practice today:

• Love one another (found 13 times in the N.T.)
• Honor one another
• Live in harmony with one another
• Don't pass judgement on one another
• Carry each others burdens
• Be kind and compassionate to one another
• Be at peace with each other
• Build each other up
• Confess your sins to each other
• Pray for each other

Brilliant.... They won't be expecting that!

This is a few days late for a Christmas showing, but I thought it was worth viewing a few days late.  Enjoy!

Peace I leave with you... My peace I give to you

This Christmas season marks the 100th anniversary of the 1914 Christmas Truce.  When the war began military strategists thought the conflict would be over quickly, but  World War I amassed 37 million casualties: 16 million deaths and 21 million wounded.  

The truce enjoyed by British and German soldiers that Christmas day is one of the best stories to come out of that brutal, senseless war.  

According to one account the truce began when German soldiers began singing "Silent Night" (Stille Nacht in German).  And then British soldiers responded by singing the song in English.  As the singing continued soldiers from both sides cautiously climbed out of their trenches and came together to shake hands and exchange simple gifts on the no-man's land in between the trenches.  As the photo suggests, some may have even played a game of soccer.

The family of one soldier recently gave permission to publish the letter he wrote to his mother describing what took place that day. He wrote, "I think I have seen today one of the most extraordinary sights that anyone has ever seen... about 10 o'clock this morning I was peeping over the parapet when I saw a German, waving his arms, and presently two of them got out of their trench and came toward ours... We were just going to fire on them when we saw they had no rifles, so one of our men went to meet them and in about two minutes the ground between the two lines of trenches was swarming with men and officers of both sides, shaking hands and wishing each other a happy Christmas."

Peace in any time or place is an extraordinary sight.  Unfortunately, we live in a time of great conflict here in America and in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and all around the world 

As Jesus prepared to bring his earthly work to a close, he sent his followers out into the world with this promise: "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."  

If Jesus is present wherever 2 or 3 gather in his name, then the peace of Jesus should be visible wherever we gather.  The world is waiting for those who have the courage to climb out of their trenches and bring the peace of Jesus into no-man's land.   What an extraordinary sight that will be!

Meeting from house to house...

Long before Sunday worship lead by professionally trained pastors in formal church buildings, the followers of Jesus gathered in homes to eat, pray, learn together and support one another.  The Book of Acts is the record of those early gatherings.  Acts begins in a house in Jerusalem and ends in a house in Rome.  The first Christians gathered from house to house.

Normally when we hear the word "church" we automatically think "building." But by the end of the first century the church had grown to about 25,000 believers without breaking ground for a single church building.  And that was only the beginning.  By 200 AD, millions of people throughout the Roman Empire had become followers of Jesus, still without a single church building or seminary trained pastor to preach or visit the sick.  

How did this happen?  The believers gathered from house to house to eat, pray, study together and support one another.  Read it for yourself in the Book of Acts:

The Believers Form a Community

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper, and to prayer.A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

What could this kind of church look like today?  In this video, Tony and Felicity Dale provide a glimpse by inviting us into several house churches and introducing us to the people who gather from house to house.
https://vimeo.com/4678782

Joy to the World!

 The birth of a child... any child... is the source of jaw droppin' foot stompin' joy!  Our first son was born at a time when hospitals were only beginning to allow dads to be in the delivery room.  The hospital in Chicago where our first son was born greeted this progressive new turn of events with enthusiasm. And so did I!  As I stood there at Carol's side, a genuine, bonafide, parting of the Red Sea kind of miracle unfolded before me and I experienced the kind of joy that makes you laugh and weep at the same time.  I finally understood why angels began to sing at the birth of Jesus. 

I could quote the words of their song in good King James English and had sung them in Latin, Spanish, French, German, and Hausa as well.  But at 11:32 on that amazing morning, I understood why the angels sang "Glory to God in the highest!"   

The birth of a child... any child... is a reason to break out into singing.  The birth of Jesus continues to fill the halls of heaven and earth with beautiful music. Luke's account of Jesus' birth has inspired many a song: 

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and  the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;  for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men!"

The Jesus Connection

Its amazing how many different versions there are of Da Vinci's Last Supper. There's The Simpsons version with Homer surrounded by patrons at Moe's bar. There are at least two Star Wars versions, one with Darth Vader at the center and another with Luke Skywalker.  There's HBO's The Soprano's with Tony Soprano and South Park with Kyle Broflovski; The Expendables with Sylvester Stallone and Hell's Kitchen with Gordon Ramsay.  Just to mention a few.

There are a couple of reason's for posting Hyatt Moore's version of the Last Supper.  It illustrates how God's love reaches out to every people group, community and culture.  That 1950's VBS song continues to ring true: "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.  Red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in his sight."  Let's learn it, sing it, and live it!

A more important reason for posting Moore's version of the Last Supper it that it illustrates how people groups, communities and cultures can become one body, committed to a common purpose when Jesus is the central focus.  Wherever 2 or 3 gather in his name, Jesus is powerfully present.  

Yale historian Jeroslav Pelikan wrote, "Regardless of what anyone may personally think or believe about him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western Culture for almost 20 centuries. If it were possible, with some sort of super magnet, to pull up out of history every scrap of metal bearing at least a trace of his name, how much would be left?"

The early Christian movement was under-financed and had limited material resources.  Their leaders was under-educated and lacked celebrity or political influence.  It is likely that they would have become little more than a brief "flash mob" except for on thing.  They were devoted to Jesus.  John offered this simple summary of their mission, "We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy."

The Gathering... Not a "What" but a "Who"

Who are we?

Why do we call ourselves “The Gathering?”  The answer is a little complicated, but mostly pretty simple.  Here’s the complicated part first.  When you read the word “church” in the New Testament, it is translated from the Greek word “ecclesia.”  The literal meaning of ecclesia is “assembly” or “gathering.”   The idea of democracy had its roots in ancient Greece when, for the first time in history, ordinary people were asked to attend public gatherings to deliberate important concerns affecting the welfare of the community. "Ecclesia" doesn't refer to a place, but the gathering of people who want to affect the welfare of the community.

 

We call ourselves “The Gathering” in an attempt to return to the original meaning of "ecclesia/church."  Through the centuries this simple concept has gotten bogged down with all sorts of theological and architectural baggage.  There are lots of church buildings in our communities, but fewer and fewer people seem to gather in them.  Our communities need the kind of churches Jesus had in mind: authentic gatherings of believers who are committed to both praying and living out the Lord's prayer: Father in heaven, may your kingdom come and your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

The Gathering comes to central Florida

We're just getting started, but we have begun to gather in Osceola County and hope to become a growing network of people who are joined together by a mutual desire to follow Jesus.  We believe there is much more to following Jesus than merely going to a church service on Sunday.  Jesus didn't lay down his life so we would go to church.  Jesus is waiting for us to BE the church... the living, breathing, walking, talking body of Christ... wherever 2 or 3 are gathered in his name.

So who are we?  Well, some of us have grown up in traditional churches, and some haven’t.  Some are new to the faith and others have been on this journey for years.  We are different in size, shape, age and experience.  We don't all like the same kind of music, follow the same sports teams, or share the same political views.  But when we keep our eyes on Jesus, our differences don't divide us, but help us to become more balanced... more focused... more fruitful.

So here's the the long and the short of it: Jesus didn't come to start a religion, he came to create a lifestyle that is faithful and fruitful.  A lifestyle that embraces God's forgiveness and frees us from all condemnation.  A lifestyle where old things pass away and new things become possible.  A lifestyle where we are deeply loved and able to love deeply.  A lifestyle that promotes healing, health and hope.  A lifestyle where caring for the needs of our neighbors is more important than accumulating more and more stuff.  A lifestyle where the peace of Jesus overcomes all our fears and the way of Jesus brings light to all our dark places.  A lifestyle where Jesus is powerfully present wherever 2 or 3 gather in his name.