The Importance of Community

     As humans we come in contact with hundreds of people sometimes daily. In our lifetime we can pass by and see thousands upon thousands of faceless humans. Only a small number of those people we become acquainted with. An even smaller amount of those acquainted with we end developing a relationship with them. Then on from that uncountable number of contacts we have only a minuscule amount of people we would consider to be close friends. 

    I'm going through an interesting transition. I feel God really just opening my eyes to the importance of community. God calls us to do 2 things, love Him and love people. If you're anything like me the loving God part is extremely easy, but the loving people thing...not so much. I've really seen lately God opening my heart up to people and showing me how amazing it truly is when you have people close to your heart to experience God with and partner with them in your walk with God.

      All throughout the Bible relationship is prevalent. David had Jonathan, Ruth had Naomi, Jesus had Peter, and Barnabas had Paul. The stories of these friendships are some of the best ever documented. Despite trials, controversy, and adversity these men and women showed loyalty and commitment to each other along with strengthening each other. What's the purpose of friendship? In my opinion the purpose of friendship is to strengthen one another, assist each other in trials, to uphold each other in weakness, and expose things in the other that the other may not see with the purpose of building up the person. 

      In our lives we have blind spots. Places in our lives that we don't see imperfection or shortcomings and when rooted in community those weaknesses can be loving exposed with the intent of helping the person become closer to God. When having a partner(s) in your walk with God it allows you to be subject to accountability and when the person who knows you forward and backward sees something off in you they can easily identify it and help restore you. God allows us to be in relationship not just because it makes Him happy, but because it strengthens us as humans. There's something just so different about life when something goes amazing you have someone to rejoice with, and when it feels like everything is wrong you have someone to cry with. We as humans have this innate desire and need for people. As much as some people suppress it we all have this need for relationship and to be loved. 

       On the subject of love, God has been really just rocking my world with love. Like just loving people. I personally have always been introverted and able to spend hours and even up to days away from any human interaction. Since getting saved I feel that previous nature dissipating. I've become more outgoing, hospitable, and personable. People have been put priority above myself. Over the course of this year I've began to feel a closer bond to what now are my best friends. The level of love I have for about 4 or 5 people is like anything I've ever experienced before. My relationship with God has deepened because of them. Exactly how God intended relationship with people to be. When I look to the Bible I see John 15:13-15 describe friendship as this, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." Hmmmm no greater love than he who lays down his life for his friends? That's extreme! God calls us to love so passionately and fiercely to lay down our lives for another person. What other religion or earthly philosophy would say that if it comes down to you or them....choose them? We live in a world all about I. I get the better car over you. I get the better position at work if it means I have to step over you. If a car is speeding down a busy street and its either you or me...well its too bad for you! But God is saying to love another person so fervently and unconditionally that if it means that you see death so they may live....so be it. 

     My favorite Bible story occurs in 1 Samuel Chapters 18 to 20. Jonathan, despite inheriting power and going against his father's pursuit of David, remained loyal and stood by his friend. Jonathan had his whole life lined up. Jonathan was prince and son of King Saul. Jonathan was destined to become King of Israel. Through marriage David became Prince of Israel, and David grew popular among the Israeli Army and people. Saul's favor and love for David turn to bitterness and hate. Saul knew one day David was going to take the thrown which meant Jonathan would never be King. So Saul purposes in his heart to murder David. Jonathan and David's bond grew strong and they purposes not to let anything come between them. Many times Jonathan risked his own life to aid and intercede for David. David respected Jonathan so much that he bowed down before him three times. Once hearing the news of Saul and Jonathan's death, David composed a song of lamentation called The Song Of The Bow that was instructed to be taught to all the children of Judah. So easily Jonathan could have turned on David. I'm sure Jonathan dreamed many times about become King  and how amazing it would be. Then to have that birth right taken away could have been traumatic for Jonathan if he let it. Jonathan had every right to be angry and to help his dad pursue David's life, but the love he had for him and he valued David too much. So often in the name of position and ministry we easily walk on each other to get ahead. What if we went into the ministerial world with the mentality of Jonathan that when that church of 500 who your father passionately Pastored for 30 years and you were to be the obvious choice for Senior Pastor when he retired next year, and God anoints your best friend for that position and you are to be stuck in the Youth Pastor role for another season. Instead of groaning and moaning over the loss of your promotion you can be like Jonathan and rejoice that God chose your best friend for you to be submitted to in authority. That relationship is the beauty of community. 

      I write this with some of the best people I met thus far in mind and pray that if God exalted one of them over me whether in ministry or personally that I'd react like Jonathan and be their number one supporter. That's what community is about. Giving up our personal agendas, comfort, and position to see God move in others. Joy can be defined as Jesus-Others-Me. I challenge those who don't have this type of relationship to seek God out and then get a name(s) and seek out relationship. You weren't intended to make this journey alone, but to do it arm and arm being rooted in community. 

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" Proverbs 27:17

When The Fluff Stops Here

*I want to preface this by saying that this post may or may not be as popular as the other blogs I wrote. This post stems out of slight frustration and confusion with The Body Of Christ.*

Over the past few months I have visited about 3-5 other churches on top of attending my home church. A common theme that I was noticing was that either the church had growth due to the new attendees leaving another church or have lost members for various reasons. This problem has really weighed heavy on me because I have personally seen the leadership of two churches deal with the heartbreak and confusion of seemingly faithful members leave the church. This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to have a "getaway weekend" with some friends and attend their church. This left me about a good 9 hours alone to really sit and ponder why all these events were happening. I drove and questioned if the problem lied in leadership, the services, or if the problem was solely placed on the person(s) leaving. Being a product of both churches' leadership and despite them not always "getting it right" I still feel their leadership and ability to Shepherd a Church or Youth Group is phenomenal. I've attended both churches' services and God has shown up and moved mightily. Which for me has left only one option...the person leaving. I won't get into too much detail about my opinions on the persons and what they are doing, but the point of this post is to more expose the pattern in the Church lately.

The Scripture that has constantly been ringing in my ears is 2 Timothy 4:3 "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." My opinion...welcome to that time. I firmly believe that the main reason for people leaving is because God is sending out a message that isn't very popular. I believe that in these End Times people who are truly hungry to see fruit coming forth from the Body are receiving direction on how to genuinely live for God rather than say a cute little prayer and attend church and call it a nice way to get into Heaven. Hate to bring some Biblical truth to this post but that nice little "Sinner's Prayer" you prayed is not enough (a nice start I'd say, but just that...a start).To truly be saved and enter into Heaven there is a constant pressing forth to the mark, active relationship with Jesus that will result in Holiness, and bearing fruits. I don't say that by our works we are saved, but there is so much more that is involved than a nice little prayer and church attendance. God doesn't care about your church's numbers. I have heard preachers say, " God loves high numbers because that means His Word is being heard." Incorrect! The Devil loves packed out churches to people who really aren't living or hearing the Word. I believe God will move stronger and mightier with a church of 20 devoted Followers than Joel Osteen's church of people attending to feel good. God doesn't need numbers. He wants Followers. The problem, however, is that following God and His Word seriously isn't the most popular of choices. God will breakdown every preconceived doctrine and replace it with His Truth. Also that whole die to yourself daily thing isn't the most popular of the Words Jesus said. 

So what happens when God opened the eyes of a core group and leadership of a church and they begin to truly preach The Word? Exactly what is happening to a few churches I know. I have noticed that in the turn of the year the messages at my home church have drastically changed. I, guest preachers, and my Pastor have all begun preaching this message of Following Jesus and denying ourselves so that Jesus may have His way among us. My biggest frustration in Christians is that many many many of us use Jesus as a self-help program. The average American goals are to FEEL morally right, healthy, wealthy, happy, and have a little religion. When it means to get radical for that religion it is time to go somewhere else. That's what I have been noticing in my church and various other churches. When you stand on The Truth and God's standards many people don't want to hear it and will do anything to fight leadership and sow discord among the Followers before ultimately leaving. When the attention gets turned off of a person and turned to Jesus the popularity that kept someone there begins to fade. (If I were preaching this would be the moment I say " I'm bout to start meddling.") When the fluff in messages being presented from the pulpit ends and the Word gets used for its original purpose to teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16) people will not stay. The Word can be offensive at times and when leadership rises up and takes its roll to correct the congregation or to tell lovingly that someone is out of order and in rebellion, families will go because now Church isn't about feeling good anymore and we lose this sense of self-righteousness and sense the necessity of denying ourselves and letting go of everything so God can use us. Not every Christian that walks into your church is willing to be apart of God's vision.

John 15 and Matthew 13 beautifully sum up the reality that all people in our churches aren't going to Heaven. The Church is constantly throwing out seeds and only 1/4 of those seeds end up being fruitful. John 15 also states that God The Father cuts off every branch that doesn't bear fruit. A lot of instances where we are seeing dramatic weeding out in our churches are seeing threats of people leaving should be treated as exactly what it is...God weeding out our churches so that we may bear more fruit. Lets not hold onto the weeds that are trying to strangle the fruitful. The churches I have attended I know without a shadow of a doubt that God is setting those churches up for revival and to see things deeper than what has ever been seen before. However, as a church we can not experience God in that level when we have a cancerous people plaguing our Body. When the Word is being powerfully brought forth God responds. 

I have had the blessing and privilege to be under two amazing sets of leadership and I owe so much to them and their ministries. It is such a hard thing to see leadership hurt due to the weeding out process and having people that they've poured into leave, but God has a plan and a purpose for  His Church and at the end of the day some relationships in the Body need to end so we can move onto another level of Glory and have our tents enlarged. I want to finish this by saying not every person leaving the church is in rebellion or "unsaved". Some people have different preferences in churches and if the church isn't theirs that is okay. There is however a biblical way to leave a church and a very non-biblical way to leave a church and how you leave makes a huge difference to everyone involved and most importantly to God. If you leave fighting and being in rebellion against leadership don't expect to be blessed by God in many aspects of your life.