Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and
aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s
household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building,
being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom
you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
There is a value in
staying connected. Researchers are
saying that the number of people in the U.S. that are actively involved in
church is decreasing at a very steady pace.
There are several major contributing factors to this, but one of them is
that a lot of folks just do not see the need.
In fact, according to the Reveal Study, long-time church goers indicate
that their church does a poor job at helping them stay connected to Christ and
to make progress in their spiritual growth.
My own thought is that the remedy to this is found here in
Ephesians. The great need is not simply
for more churches if the new ones are going to be like a majority of the old
ones. The great need is for a new church
that looks a lot like the ancient church.
I won't talk about what is wrong with the present day church. You can look at the Scriptures yourself and
discern that.
What I want to talk about is how to get it right. That involves people coming together and
building a community rooted in Scripture and committed to the cause of Christ. This is a community where grace is extended,
forgiveness is abundant, compassion is flowing, encouragement is never-ceasing,
and growth is expected.
Let me just say a word about that last one. It is possible that a person can attend your
church, and after services on Sunday go into the parking lot, pull a Coors
Light out of a cooler in their car, pop a top and drink it, and all you-know-what
would break loose. If this person was a
leader in the church, there would likely be a scandal and a crisis.
But if that same person would never do that, but instead was
kind of cold and aloof, lacking in compassion, held grudges, never led anyone
to Christ, and was no more gracious, forgiving, merciful or loving than they
were 35 years ago when they joined the church, chances are no one would even
notice. This would probably be no great
crisis in the church. But which of the
two actions - a beer in the parking lot, or a lifetime of stagnation and indifference
- should be the greater scandal? For those of you who may be concerned, no, I am not advocating beer drinking at church. For those of you who just lost interest, thanks for reading this far.
Growth should be expected.
I should expect it in myself and in the people around me because we are
connected to Christ and members of the same holy temple with Jesus as our
cornerstone. Growth is not
optional. But it is - but it is life-giving,
joy-inducing, and freedom-producing.
Growth frees us to live a joy-filled life that is overflowing with power
and courage and beauty and strength and peace and confidence and a radiant kind
of goodness that makes living any other way seem unthinkable.
May you stay connected to a healthy community of faith and
contribute to its health as you draw closer to the heart of God in Christ
Jesus. May you continue to grow into the larger and deeper and abundant kind of life God intends for you to live. And may others see in you the great
value of growing in community.
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