City on a Hill

So last Sunday a night some friends gathered and we were discussing culture and church. We started by identifying the make-up of the culture we live in. Money, materialism, status, and freedom were shouted out. We agreed to sum all of this up as individualism.

This was important for us to do because we are talking about building a community. The trap, I have seen, is that we (churches) simply read Acts 2 as the standard of church and try to live that out as a community. What we tend to forget is the culture that the early church was a part of.

The Roman Empire was heavy on a class system (rich/poor, slave/free, Jew/Greek). It was also central to the worship of Caesar. Common slogans were, "Caesar is Lord" and "There's no other name by which man can be saved except that of Caesar." Roman citizens would gather and worship the Caesar and if they were shown to be in true worship then they were called and 'ekklesia'...or church.

Interesting.

Counter-Culture.

The church was a dangerous place. To join it meant you were risking your life. They took the propaganda from the Roman government and made it their own.

"Jesus is Lord"
"There's no other name by which man can be save expect that of Jesus"
"There's no Jew, nor Greek, nor free, nor slave, nor man, nor woman"
"Church"

They shattered the class system by sharing their possessions and caring for the poor; they worshiped and devoted themselves to the Apostle's teachings; they had all things in common.

This is probably the most punk rock movement in history.

I'm reminded of Rage Against the Machine when Zack says, "Why stand on a silent platform, fight the war, f*ck the norm."

In love, the church stood up, declared Jesus (not Caesar) is Lord, and they lived as ONE; having all things in common.

So then, we agreed Sunday night that our American culture is summed up as being individualistic. We then asked if our church reflects the American culture; the answer was yes. We can't just sit and wag our fingers so we asked if we reflect this American-Evangelical culture; the answer was yes.

Here's a sidebar story: My friend and I recently had lunch and he asked me what I do for my church. As I was sharing my thoughts on building a community that is counter-cultural he asked if people were willing to do it. I said that the majority, now, won't. His response was, "Man I'd hate to be in your position."

It struck me as we were talking: Having a community that reflects the Acts 2 community is highly spiritual. The Holy Spirit was extremely present in that community, and it was only by the power of the Holy Spirit that people were able to live counter-culturally.

I think we lack the Holy Spirit, but I think it's accessible.

An insight into the early church: Before Pentecost came the Apostle's were waiting for the Holy Spirit to come, because Jesus promised it would. They didn't start gathering AFTER the Spirit descended but BEFORE. They were all together in one place praying. They wanted it...big time.

They must have remembered Jesus' words in John 16:7, "It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, The Helper (Holy Spirit) will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you."

It was better for Jesus, in the flesh, to leave.

A young man said to me last night, "I just wish Jesus would come back and run the church."

"It was to your advantage that I go away."

If the Apostle's sat around feeling sorry for themselves, or pointing fingers at what is wrong, who knows what would've happened. However, they had something I, and most of us lack; Faith. They expected the Holy Spirit to come and help them build a community.

Do I? Do you?

When my friend asked me if he offended me, by saying he would hate to have my job, I replied no. The burden is not on me to convince people to believe. I can't make anyone want to be a part of following Jesus or building a community, that's the Holy Spirit's job. However, I felt convicted to continue to pray and seek the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Jesus loves the Church. He might be sad with its current state, but He still loves it; us. I know He wants to have a healthy bride that is a radiant city on a hill.

I want to be a part of that.

It starts with my own personal devotion.

Faith

An interesting story takes place in Luke 8:22-25. Jesus invited His disciples on a journey with Him to travel from one side of a lake to another. As soon as the adventure began Jesus fell asleep. The story goes on as a rather large storm arises which cause the disciples to be afraid of their well being. Naturally, the ran down and woke up Jesus saying that they are on the verge of perishing. Jesus woke up, saved the day, and then challenges, albeit rebukes, them for their lack of faith.
The story hits home, for me, on many levels. One, Jesus invited me this great journey in following Him and sometimes I feel like He's asleep at the wheel leaving me alone to fend for myself. Two, in these moments of fear, and even abandonment, I cry out to the Lord and He's pretty faithful in providing me with comfort. And thirdly, as I process the issue I began to see where I lacked faith.
So, what is faith? A good Christian answer is that faith is a belief, or hope, in something we cannot see. What I've been learning is that faith is the belief in promises of the Christ (and that the promises are available now, not just when we die!). In the sermon on the mount Jesus was very specific on how to live a blessed life. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Faith is an act of surrendering to the teachings of the principles of the sermon on the mount and through this act the promises of the Christ are given. This act of surrender changes our hope from finding security in our circumstances to finding security from the Lord in spite of our circumstances.
Faith in the Christ allows us to be confident in the midst of our storms. It actually produces a peace in our storm to the extent that we find no fear. Jesus was pushing His disciples to have this level of faith. He was preparing them for what were to lie ahead of them. When being persecuted, famished, or being faced with any other circumstance their faith in the promises of the Christ would provide them a peace that would surpass all understanding.
The promises of the Christ will not return void.

Hmmm

So, my main passion is discipleship. It's kinda all I think about. I use to be really political a few years ago but I began to see how the church can actually be more influential in society than some suit, if she wants to be. So, now, I have become much more self critical on our methodology as a church rather than getting fired up over how legislation will help solve the real problem in America. I don't seek to take away from those who enjoy politics but rather I hope to always remind the bride that she is the salt and the light and how by putting our faith in the principles of the Christ, we, as a community, can become a much greater movement.


I have heard it said from many grass root type of Christians that the church, for too long, has just focused on herself and cared only for the sheep and how we need to move away from that paradigm of church and become more focused on become intertwined with society. Also, we have focused on discipleship but now it's time to get outside the walls.


At first I buy into the heart of moving from being an exclusive community to being a community that becomes all inclusive by seeking out and rubbing elbows with 'non-Christians'. One thing that is important for us as believers, to be self-critical. This attribute is not negative but actually very positive. It' s hard to be self-critical because of, well, us. When things are going well then being self critical is easy because we really don't have to do anything different, however, when things are at an impasse or simply not working being self-critical is a difficult task because we all have ego's.

So my initial question is: If we understand the tenants of being a disciple of Jesus and we understand how cultivate these principles with others (this comes from the premise that the church has been discipled and it's time for the next step) then why is the church highly irrelevant within our culture?

My initial thought is: In the spirit of being self critical, and how that's a good thing, maybe we've missed out on some key principles of Jesus which prohibits us from being salty.

I hear it left and right, and I am guilty too, of how 'our church is striving to be the Acts 2 church'. I often wonder to myself; really? So does that mean your church is seeking to gather daily and worship, pray, and receive the word? Are you really sharing your goods in common or even selling your homes and giving the money to the elders in the church? The church that lives in that manner is truly distinct. Being that the early church was one step removed from the Christ they understood His principles in a practical manner. The early church served as the means of the social welfare system, and they didn't even have political power! It was an act of disciples who understood the cost of what it meant to follow the Christ and the willingness to surrender their identity for the sake of the kingdom.

This act of kingdom living is inspiring to me but I am selfish and struggle with my own identity crisis. I like the principles of the Christ on one hand and I know that a church united around building the kingdom can have more influence than a Democratic or Republican majority. However, the reality is that because these principles are so hard to live by, because we are weak, the concept of community (one which understands and follows the principles of the Christ) is what keeps us accountable to remembering our role as a body.