“One Anothering”
Hey Friends,
This weekend we begin the fall alignment. Double the power and double the punch! Once or twice a year at FPC we align the weekend messages with the lessons in the small groups. This is an exciting time and I look for a lot of life transformation. Jesus is about changing lives and transforming them into tools that he can use. My query and quandary is, why is it so hard to get people into community today? It is part of the job of the Pastors to facilitate community, but why is it so difficult?
As I read the four Gospels they are a story of the Savior and His small group. Then we move to the book of Acts and we find community on every page and verse. The new church was crammed full of community. I guess they needed it. They were shinning the Light into darkness and the darkness hated it and them. So they were persecuted, hated, and killed. They were rejected by their family, friends, and communities. Being thrown out by everyone, they desperately needed community. No one would disagree with me so far, so why don’t we need it today? That question has huge implications, wouldn’t you agree? So what is the deal?
Can we deduce from this that we are missing the mark? Are we shining the Light? The world doesn’t hate us anymore, it just ignores us. Is our impact that limited? Or do we just not need each other anymore? As I read the New Testament I see the words “one another” in so many places. Love, serve, share, encourage, help, stimulate….one another. It is hard to do in a room with 1000 people. We do it in circles in small groups. It is easy to hide in rows, not so easy in circles.
Community is critical and we all need to be involved. I’m so excited about what the Lord will do in the series starting this weekend, GRO-UP! Time to step over the line.
Yours to count on.
Pastor
2 Comments
Could Paul do what He did without a community behind him? He seemed to rely so heavily on their condition and strength as a group…even stating that his labor might be in vain if they were not remaining faithful. Started Thessalonians today…look at 1 thes 3:5-9
He is always sending someone back to see the condition of one of his groups. It seemed as though Paul could not function well if he did not know that his “groups” were doing well.
How do you get passed being an extreme introvert? People..especially NEW people freak me out! It’s not necessarily a trust issue with me. It’s about being scared to death to make converstaion, which I’m not good at.